EDUCATORS‟ PERCEPTIONS OF THE

INCLUSION OF LEARNERS WITH

HEARING IMPAIRMENT INTO
ADVANCED LEVEL CLASSES AT
SELECTED HIGH SCHOOLS IN

GWERU URBAN

By

SIMBARASHE MUPUTISI

A Research Project submitted to the

Department of Educational Foundations,
Management and Curriculum Studies in
partial fulfillment of the

Requirements for the degree of

MASTER OF EDUCATION

In

SOCIOLOGY OF EDUCATION

At the

MIDLANDS STATE UNIVERSITY

1|Page
 Approval Form
The undersigned certify that they have
read and recommended that to the
Midlands State University for acceptance
of a dissertatio e titled, Edu ators’
Perceptions of the Inclusion of Learners
with Hearing Impairment into Advanced
Classes at selected High Schools in Gweru
Ur a , su itted by SIMBARASHE
MUPUTISI in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for Master of Education
Degree.
…………………………….. …………………
Supervisor Date
……………………………. ……………
Chairperson Date
…………………………… ………………
External Evaluator Date

i|Page
 Release Form

Name Simbarashe Muputisi

Dissertation Topic Educators‟ Perceptions of

The Inclusion of Learners

With Hearing Impairment

Into Advanced Level

Classes at Selected High

Schools in Gweru Urban

Degree Title Master of Education

Year Granted 2014

Permission is hereby granted to MSU Library to produce

a copy of this dissertation and to lend such copies to
scholarly research processes only. The researcher
reserves other publication rights, and neither the
dissertation nor extensive extracts from the dissertation
may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the
researcher‟s permission.

Signed

Permanent Address Guinea Fowl High School

P. O. Box 1530

Gweru

Date November 2014

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 Dedication

This Project is dedicated to my

sons Adrian (late) and Wiseman,
and to my daughter Immaculate
who I love so much. The work is
also dedicated to my beloved
sister Antonetta Sungwa from
who I draw most of my
inspiration.

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 Acknowledgements

I wish to sincerely thank the following people for their

invaluable advice, support and encouragement during my
research.

1 .Mr. F. Mpofu, formerly of City of Gweru‟s Department

of Community Services, Gweru.

2. Mr. J. Mapingire, a Special teacher of Jairos Jiri Naran

Centre, Ascot Suburb, Gweru.

3. Mr. L. Sibanda, a teacher at Mpumelelo Primary

School, Mkoba, Gweru.

4. Heads of Guinea Fowl and Mambo High Schools, in

Gweru for their collaboration and cooperation in
administration of research instruments.

5. Miss. E. Mumbire, a colleague in the Science Dept. at

Guinea Fowl High School for advice on the design of the
Interview Schedule.

6. Miss. Cathrene Hove for typing this project and

subsequent printing of the final document.

7. Mr. E. H. Mutubuki, my supervisor for advice, review

and constant appraisal, without whom this research could

not have been a success.

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Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the

perceptions of educators on the inclusion of learners with
hearing impairment into regular Advanced Level classes in
selected Gweru urban high schools. It also tried to identify
gaps in information regarding inclusive education in general.
The research aimed at identifying particular perceptions and
possibly attitudes of teachers and administrators in schools
and those of other stakeholders. The results were used to
make a number of conclusions based on generalizations and
recommendations about the study. The descriptive survey
design method was used with the questionnaire as the main
data collection instrument, reinforced by interviews to explore
feelings and beliefs and to clarify misconceptions where
necessary. The data presentation, analysis and interpretation
were done in form of percentages, tables and graphs for quick,
easy reading and analysis of research findings and display of
results. The research findings indicated that educators
generally agree with the inclusion of learners with hearing
impairment and that there is need to show some interest and
support towards inclusive programmes. Most of the educators
also indicated that the majority of current classrooms require
modifications to suit the needs of learners with hearing
impairment. Both Heads and teachers indicated that learners
with hearing impairment require special educational facilities,
especially the severely affected. It emerged from the review of
related literature that inclusive education has become a reality
in Zimbabwe. It was therefore recommended that all tertiary
colleges should incorporate an element of special education in
all of their course modules; particularly sign language which is
relevant in communicating and managing learners with hearing
impairment in regular settings.

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List of Abbreviations and Acronyms
“A” Level- Advanced Level of the General

Certificate of Education

“O” Level- Ordinary Level of the General Certificate of

Education
A.U. - African Union
B.A - Bachelor of Arts
B.Ed. - Bachelor of Education
B.Com - Bachelor of Commerce
B.Sc- Bachelor of Science
C. Ed. – Certificate in Education
C.D.C. - Children in Difficult Circumstances
C.E- Certificate in Education
Cert. Certificate
DANIDA- Danish International Development Agency
Deg- Degree
Dip- Diploma
Dip.ED. - Diploma in education
Dip.Sp.Ed - Diploma in Special Education
HND- Higher National Diploma
LRE- Least Restrictive Environment

M.S.U. - Midlands State University

NASCOH- National Association of Societies for the

Care of the Handicapped

ND- National Diploma

HND- Higher National Diploma

O.A.U.- Organization of African Unity

Postgrad- Postgraduate
PTH- Primary teacher‟s course-higher
PTL - Primary Teacher‟s course -Lower

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PWD. - People with Disabilities
SIDA- Swedish International Development Agency
SABC- South African Broadcasting Corporation
Std.6- Standard Six of Primary Level of Education
Trs- Teachers
U.K. - United Kingdom
U.N. - United Nations
UNESCO- United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization
U.S.A.- United States of America
Yrs - Years
Z.O.U. – Zimbabwe Open University
ZJC.- Zimbabwe Junior Certificate
ZBCTV - Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation

Television

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List of Tables, Pie-charts and Graphs

A]. Background of Respondents

Table Page

1. Sex Distribution of Respondents……………….……..84

2. Age Distribution of Respondents……………………..86

3. Academic Qualifications…………………………..……87

4. Professional Qualifications….….………………..….…89

5. Teaching Experience……………………………...……91

B]. Educators‟ Views on Inclusion

6.Variable 1……………………………………..……..…...93

7.Variable 2……………...…………….………………..….94

8.Variable 3…………………….…………………………..95

9.Variable 4 …..……………………………………………97

10.Variable 5 ………………………………………………98

11.Variable 6................................................................100

12.Variable 7 …………………………..…………………101

13.Variabe 8.………………………… …………..………103

14.Variable 9 ……………………………………………..104

15.Variable 10 ………………………………..…….……106

16.Variable 11 ...........................................................107

17.Variable 12 ……………………………………………109

18.Variable 13 ……………..……………………………110

19.Variable 14 ……………...…………………………….111

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20.Variable 15 …………………………………………....112

21.& pie-chart 16: All Questionnaire Variables………..114

22.Variables:1-15: Schools “X” & “Y” Results………...116

23.& Pie-chart 17: Interview Results…………………..119

Graph 1 School “A” and “B” Samples Results ………..118

Graph 2Interview Sample Results……………….…….121

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Table of contents
Item Page
Title Page…………………………………………………… i
Approval Form…………………………………………….. ii
Release Form………………………………………………iii
Dedication………………………………………………….iv
Acknowledgement…………………….…………………. v
Abstract…......................................................................vi
List of Abbreviations and Acronyms.……..………… vii
List of Tables……………………………………………… ix
Table of Contents………………………………………… xi
CHAPTER ONE………….. ………….……………….…….1

The Problem and its Context……………….……………1

Background to the Study……………….………………...1

Conceptual Framework…………….……………………..4

Statement of the Problem………………………………...8

Research Questions…………….…………..…………...10
Limitations of the Study………………………..……….11
Justification of the Study……………………..………...11
Significance of the Study……………………………….12
Assumptions of the Study………………………………13
Delimitation…...…………………………………………...14
Definition of Terms……….………………………………15
Summary …………………………………………………..22
CHAPTER TWO…………………..……………………….23
Review of Related Literature……………………………23
Introduction………………………………………….…….23
From Integration to Inclusion…………………………..25
An international Perspective on Inclusion ………….27
The Process of Integration and Inclusion…..………..28
Integration versus Inclusion……………………….......30
Redefining Inclusion………………………....................34

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The Least Restrictive Environment ………………….35
Inclusion versus Exclusion..……………………….….36
Inclusion as Human Rights…………………………....37
General Class Placement….........................................39
Reasons for Inclusion ……………………………….....40
De-institutionalization from Special school….……..40
Technological Advancement…………………………..41
Advocacy Groups and Inclusion………………………42
Legal Frameworks for Inclusion……………………….43
Curriculum Issues in Successful Inclusion…….……44
Educators and other Stakeholders‟ Perceptions…...45
Benefits of Inclusive Education Programmes………57
Inclusion and National Development..........................58
Challenges in the Implementation of Inclusion……..60
Critical Issues in Successful Inclusion……………….61
Summary…………………………………………………...63
CHAPTER THREE………………………….……………..65
Research Methodology…………………………………65
Introduction……………………………………………….65
Research Design………………………….………………65
Target Population………………………………………...68
The Sample…….…………………………………………..69
Sampling Technique……………………………………..70
The Research Instruments……………..…………..…..71
Data Collection Procedures…………..………………..73
Questionnaires……………………………………………74
The Interview……………………...………………………75
Observation…………………………………………..……77
Data Analysis Plan……………………………………….78
Ethical Considerations………………………………….80
Summary…………………………………………………..82
CHAPTER FOUR………………….………………………83
Data Presentation, Analysis and Interpretation…….83
Introduction…………………..……………………………83
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Background of the Respondents………………….…..84
Findings & Discussions from the Questionnaire.…93
Findings & Discussions from the Interview ………119
Summary………………………………………………….122
CHAPTER FIVE…………………….…………………….123
Summary, Conclusions and Recommendations….123
Introduction….….…………………………………….…123
Summary…………..….………………………………….123
Conclusions………..…………………………………….124
Recommendations……………………………………...125
References…………………………………………….…127
Appendix l………………………………………………..134
Appendix 2……………………………………………….138

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 Chapter one

The Problem and its Context

Background to the Study

As far back as immemorial times children with hearing

impairment were known to be abused and used as cheap

source of labour by communities and society in general.

Hardman, Drew, and Egan (1999) asserts that some of

them were even ridiculed or killed. However with passage

of time, members of society began to realize that such

children were just like any other children in the

community socially, emotionally, physically and

intellectually.

The global society then decided to extend educational

provision to these hearing impaired and many other

learners with various forms of disabilities. This translated

into opportunities for them to learn with other „normal‟

students in the process later known as Inclusion. The

movement of time, according to Zindi (1997), also

enabled learners with disabilities to become aware of

their own rights and intellectual capabilities. This enabled

such people to claim such rights in order to enjoy similar

opportunities experienced by the „hearing and talking

world. Such thrust enabled the non- hearing minority

group of students to be granted the right to learn amongst

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other hearing peers in regular classes through inclusive

education programmes.

The researcher‟s over twenty years of teaching

experience in high schools has revealed that children of

various handicaps and those in Difficult Circumstances

(CDC) actually do exist in many Zimbabwean schools.

The learners with hearing impairment seem to be among

the most affected as observed by this researcher to be

failing to perform at the same comparative academic level

as their „normal‟ hearing counterparts. This was

particularly observed at Ascot High School where he

taught inclusive science classes incorporating pupils with

hearing impairment.

The researcher observed that there is inadequate

specialist teachers suitably trained to handle inclusive

science classes especially those involving students with

hearing impairment. It was also observed that even the

administrative staff in most schools is largely untrained to

serve children with hearing impairment, including most

Heads of Schools.

Hadebe, (1993) stated that the provision for effective

learning of children with hearing impairment is adversely

affected by lack of by well-trained specialist

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administrators in most Special Education schools in

Zimbabwe.

In view of the above, teachers without relevant specialist

expertise tend to be found wanting when it comes to the

teaching of students with hearing impairment, especially

in the teaching of science subjects. This is so because of

the diverse and stimulating methods of instruction needs

to be applied. Furthermore, their mode of communication

has to be different from those of „normal‟ students in the

same classroom. In view of this, Hegarty (1998) asserted

that the problem of communication between regular

teachers and children with auditory impairment in

inclusive schools was exasperated by regular teachers‟

lack of knowledge of sign language. Such an environment

cannot be conducive to the needs of students with

hearing impairment. And, hence such students may tend

to perform poorly academically in comparison to their

„normal‟ peers in the same classes.

Chimedza and Peters (2000) observed that over the

years some institutions, special classes or units for the

hearing impaired have mushroomed everywhere in the

country. And, in most cases donor organizations are

involved. They cited for example; Swedish International

Development Agency (SIDA), Danish International

Development Agency (DANIDA), Canadian International

3|Page
Development Agency (CIDA), Save the Children, U.K.

and Norway, including local non-governmental

organizations having injected huge sums of funds in such

projects. These are believed to be mainly concerned with

the under- achievement and seemingly marginalization of

such children by societal systems.

Conceptual Framework

A conceptual framework implies locating, studying and

evaluating reports of relevant research study of published

activities on the subject and going through related

manuscripts. Conceptual framework, according to

Blumberg (2011), is important in that it helps research

work findings out what others have attempted to find out.

It also indicates what methods have been promising or

disappointing and problem that remains to be solved.

Another attribute of conceptual framework, from

Blumberg‟s view, is that it shows the reader what has

been done previously and relates theories and ideas to

the problem. In fact conceptual framework forms the

foundation upon which all future will be built, thus enables

the researcher to know the means of getting to the

frontier in the field of his or her research.

This research looks at the theoretical framework of and

general practice of inclusive education. A form of

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curriculum approach involving inclusive education as

viewed by Clough and Corbett (1998) may be

summarized as below:

 Curriculum if placed at the centre of “special

needs” enquiry, then special needs provision will

necessarily move near to the centre of curriculum

issues and no longer marginalized but the very

touchstone and providing point of coherent,

sensitive and moral curriculum providing for all.

 A theoretical framework which is capable of taking

account of such complex interrelations by drawing

on a variety of sociological, psychological and

other theories rather than exclusively relying on

one of them.

 A systematic recognition of the experience of

participants- teachers, pupils and parents – in

order to better understanding and interpret

teaching and research situations.

 The empirical monitoring and documentation of

learning events by both teachers and researchers

leading to critical self-evaluation and appropriate

revision of methodologies.

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The five major routes in the department of inclusive

education ideology and practice, according to Clough and

Corbett (1998) are:

1- Psychological medical legacy

2- Sociological response

3- Curricular response

4- School improvement strategies

5- Disability studies critique.

In case that all the above five major routes in inclusion

impact upon the way we now see inclusion both in society

and in educational practice, such a teaching programme

will then be a matter leading the child with learning

difficulties through pre-determined steps, allowing time for

each stage to be thoroughly mastered before proceeding

to the next (Clough and Corbett, 1998). At this point in the

argument is important to recognize that reconstructing

special needs task in terms of such improvement and

teacher development is likely to lead to a challenge to the

status quo of schooling and teacher education.

In Russia, Vygotsky‟s works on social constructivist view

of disability in the field of special education and

psychology have been crucial for the establishment of

methodology in special education practice. Vygostsky

(1993) stresses the importance of distinction between

primary and succeeding symptoms in the study of

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upbringing teaching and education of children with

different disabilities.

Inclusive education, according to Hunt and Marshal

(1994) originates from the field of religion, medicine and

philanthropy. It covers, according to the same authors,

the following three major areas of human development:

 Abuse, neglect, ignorance and acceptance

(prior to 1700)

 Awareness and optimism (1740 – 1860)

 Re- examination (from 1970 – to date)

The third period of re-examination was of real

significance toward curriculum development for the

disabled people. It is during this period that legislation

was passed in the United States of America. This period,

according to Hunt and Marshal (1994), ushered in the

concept of integration, also known mainstreaming or

normalization. This exposed the disabled persons to

regular school curricula. For majority of disable people,

the situation meant that the regular school had to be

adapted to meet group or individual needs.

At professional level, according to Reindal (2008), the

Social Rational Model presents challenges to individual

teachers and those involved in education. Specifically it

requires many to suspend their existing beliefs and

7|Page
assumptions about the origins and nature of educational

difficulties in order to consider alternative perspectives.

The focus must be on finding ways of creating conditions

that will facilitate and support the learning of all children.

The orthodoxy within special needs education, according

to Shakespeare and Watson 1997, is identified within

positivistic and functional paradigmatic frame. And, at

political level it addresses the questions to those who are

to create and administer policies.

In Zimbabwe, a substantial interest on special education

has been shown by adopting foreign policies, according

to the Nziramasanga Commission on Education and

Training (1999), such as mainstreaming, inclusive

education, integration, community and social

rehabilitation but without a careful study.

Statement of the Problem

Winzer (1996) noted that despite the rapid development

of educational institutions for children with hearing

impairment and inclusive schools, such children still

remain under-performers academically and economically

later in adulthood. It is against this background that the

researcher developed an interest in investigating the

effects of inclusion of children with hearing into regular

Advanced Level classes at two urban high schools in

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Gweru District at Guinea Fowl and Mambo High Schools,

which are former Group „A‟ and „B‟ respectively. The

researcher‟s concern is that, while in principle there is a

considerable degree of commitment to the policy of

inclusion, the practical implications of such a commitment

are far less clear.

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the

perceptions of teachers and school administrators on the

effects and challenges of the inclusion of children with

hearing impairment in into regular Advanced Level

classes. Many schools seem to have challenges in

implementing the inclusion of learners with hearing

impairment into Advanced Level classes as shown by low

or zero levels of enrolment of such students. The

research focuses on the perceptions on why learners with

hearing impairment encounter difficulties in learning

subjects at Advanced Level in high schools.

It is against this background that the study seeks to

find out the perceptions of teachers, pupils and school

heads on difficulties faced by learners with hearing

impairment in learning subjects at “A” Level in regular

schools. Perceptions as used in this study are the

opinions or views of the respondents on difficulties

9|Page
learners with hearing impairment are facing when

learning subjects at Advanced Level in regular schools.

Research Questions

The formulation of interesting research questions,

according to Voss (2003) is a necessary step to

conducting successful research. A research question,

according to the same author, is the methodological point

of departure of scholarly research in both the natural and

social sciences. Research is a displined attempt,

according to Anderson and Anderson (1998), to solve

problems though collection and analysis of primary data

for the purpose of description, generalization and

prediction. The following research questions will guide the

study:

(i). What are the perceptions of school heads,

teachers and students on difficulties learners with

hearing impairment face in learning subjects at

Advanced Level in regular high schools?

(ii). Are there any challenges in the implementation of

inclusive education?

(iii). Are there any benefits of inclusive education to

learners with hearing impairment?

(iv). Are there any gaps in the implementation of

Inclusive education in Zimbabwe?

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Limitations of the Study

A number of problems were anticipated among them,

relating to financial constraints to the purchase stationery

such as bond paper typing, costs, electronic storage

media and writing paper to produce required

questionnaires. The cost of transport and shortage of

time have limited the study to only thirty-four respondents

from both schools whereupon more could have been an

ideal situation. Time is further a limiting factor in that the

project is executed during the researcher‟s working

hours, and meanwhile the teaching programmes at the

same schools are time-scheduled beyond the control of

the researcher. The researcher is a full time teacher and

has some degree of physical disability which is likely to

restrict his movement to and from sampled areas

timeously in relation to devoting much of his time to the

study against his work place requirements.

Justification of the Study

The crucial experience of this researcher‟s involvement in

the education of children in difficult circumstances

(CDCs) and those with hearing impairment from year

1997 to the 2008 cannot be over emphasized. The

observed generic achievement results produced by such

children over years in both extracurricular activities and

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academic spheres left a lot to be desired as from the

eyes of the researcher. Therefore the study is quite

justifiable in determining the attitudes of teachers and

administrators who are likely to play a positive role in

policy decisions, recruitment, awareness campaigns and

in-service training and overall planning of inclusive

education programmes, including curricular designing

and implementation. The sampling of Gweru Urban

District and Mambo High School is also perfectly

justifiable due to their close proximity to the Jairos Jiri

Naran Centre School for the deaf. Mambo High School in

particular enrolls pupils with hearing impairment from the

centre while Guinea Fowl enrolls some learners with

variable disabilities and both their close vicinity to the

centre makes the study quite justifiable and convenient

for the researcher.

Significance of the Study

The study is highly significant especially when taken from

a historical perspective of deprivation and persistent

abuse of people with disabilities in general. The study is

supposed to set significant developmental trends on

positive perceptions and attitudes of educators and other

stakeholders on issues pertaining to educational

provision for children with hearing impairment in “A” level

disciplines. The study is supposed to enable school

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administrators, educators, the state and all parents to

develop perceptions towards children with hearing

impairment and enable such students to exploit “A” level

areas of study. Furthermore, the study should promote

stronger relations between regular teachers and their

specialist counter-parts, particularly in curricular

innovation, language development and communication

issues. The ordinary educators are supposed to have

special and instrumental methods to employ when

handling inclusive class. The study shall also be

significant and beneficial to organizations that deal with

auditory impairment and special education in general.

The study shall as well provide baseline information on

the attitudes and perceptions of educators and other

stakeholders on inclusive education programmes. It shall

also be beneficial to displines of Behavioural Psychology

and Biological Sciences in regard to the constructs of

self-concept in the auditory impaired students.

Assumptions of the Study

Assumptions in a study, according to Simon (2011), are

things that are somewhat out of your control, but if they

disappear your study would become irrelevant and that

one must justify that each assumption is “probably” true,

otherwise the study cannot progress.

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It is assumed that:

i. Regular teachers were exposed to in-service courses

relating to the teaching of learners with hearing

impairment, and other special needs areas.

ii. Academic achievement by pupils with hearing

impairment is significantly improving for the better.

iii. Parents are constantly consulted on issues affecting

their handicapped children as regarding their academic

performance.

iv. Stakeholders involved in the inclusive education of

children with auditory impairments and society at large

show positive attitudes towards inclusive education

programmes.

Delimitation

The research is based on two high schools in Gweru

Urban District which in one way or the other do

accommodate students with disabilities into their

Advanced Level classes. Teachers from two schools, one

a former Group „A‟ and the other former Group „B‟

schools, namely Guinea Fowl and Mambo High Schools.

A total of twenty four educators were randomly sampled

for the study irrespective of gender and experience.

Seventeen and six respondents will be sampled from

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each school for the questionnaire and interview

respectively.

Definition of Terms

Inclusion

It is also referred to as inclusive education in some cases

and it is underlined in the Salamanca World Conference

on Special Needs Education, (1994). The term inclusion,

according Varyrynen (1996), means a right for every child

to attend the nearest school and to get his or her

education modified to meet his or her needs and abilities.

According to the Salamanca Conference, inclusion is a

human rights issue which addresses the question of

dignity, self-reliance and active participation of the child in

the community.

Integration

Varyrynen (1996) describes integration as arrangements

whereby disabled persons are placed in regular classes

and pulled out for specific proprammes to a resource

room or special class. However, Northens and Downs

(1978) defines it as a situation where students with

disabilities are educated in the company of their regular

peers to the fullest extent by providing them with

instruction that effectively meets their individual needs.

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Children in Difficult Circumstances (CDCs)

These are vulnerable children whose circumstances

make them unable to survive successfully without outside

intervention. These include children with variable forms of

disability, orphans, children infected and affected by

HIV/AIDS abused children, abandoned children, street

children, married children, children in conflict with law and

children in conflict war zones, according to Zimbabwe

Government Social Protection Programme, (2000).

Hearing Impairment

It is defined by Kocklar, West and Taymans (2000), as

the entire range of hearing loss, from mild conditions to

profound conditions which are subsets of deafness and

hard of hearing.

Hard of Hearing

According to Northern and Downs (1978), the term refers

to hearing impairment in individuals whose impairment is

functional in terms of being able to comprehend some

form of speech inform of residual hearing, though such

individuals might miss certain words which are to be

compensated by using vision for lip or speech reading a

speaker

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Deaf

Chimedza and Peters (2005), describe a deaf person as

one whose hearing impairment prevents him or her from

registering information related to language through use of

sound. They further allege that even with the assistance

of hearing aids, the deaf person cannot process sound

including those louder than ninety decibels.

Disability

Disability, according to Gardiner (1997), is a condition

which is characterized by loss of physical functioning or

difficulty in learning and social adjustment that

significantly interferes with normal growth and

development. Zindi (1997) considers it as a lack of or

reduced ability to perform a function that others can

easily perform.

Handicap

Moores (1982) views it as a disadvantage which limits a

disabled person‟s ability to lead a normal life. In fact a

handicapped person is a person who has some condition

that markedly restricts their ability to function physically or

mentally or socially. Any child whose disabilities or

difficulties prevent him from learning these things may be

regarded as educationally handicapped according to

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(1978) and it is with all educational handicaps that we are

concerned in this study.

Mainstreaming

Mainstreaming, according to Warnock Report (1982)

refers to the practice of educating learners with special

needs in classes with non-disabled learners during

specific time periods based on their skills.

Least Restrictive Environment (LRE)

It denotes an environment, according to Zindi (1997), in

which a child with disability is placed in the least limiting

educational setting that his/her disability will allow. The

LRE approximates the normal society by promoting the

principle of normalization and ensures functioning in a

normal environment by acknowledging the fact that the

problem of disability is located in the interaction between

the disability and the environment.

Resource Room

Mdege (1986) considers the term as a classroom in a

regular school where children with special needs receive

special assistance whilst at the same time attending

lessons in regular classes. A resource room, according to

Hammill et al (1972) is a separate remedial classroom in

a school where students with educational disabilities,

such as specific learning disabilities, are given direct,

18 | P a g e
specialized instruction and academic remediation and

assistance with homework.

Sign Language

Davies and Silverman (1978) explained sign language as

a system of hand movements for expressing meanings

mostly used by the deaf people. The S.A.B.C. 2011

programme on Special Education in South Africa argues

that there is no universal sign language as each sign

language is linked to a particular spoken language

Regular teacher

A regular school teacher is one who has received general

educational training at a formal college of education or

university to teach children or students without disabilities

in an ordinary class by implementing methods suitable for

an ordinary mainstream curriculum.

Specialist Teacher

Zindi (1997) explained him or her as a teacher who is

specially trained to teach children with specific forms of

disability, such as hearing impairment, visual impairment

or mental handicap or other variable forms of disability.

Special School

19 | P a g e
A special school, according to Zindi (1997), is an

institution specifically designed to educate children with

disabilities, like those with auditory impairment.

Advanced Level

The General Certificate of Education Advanced Level

(GCE Advanced Level), or more commonly, the “A” Level,

is a school leaving qualification offered by educational

bodies in the United Kingdom and the former British

Crown dependencies to students completing secondary

or pre-university education. The model of the school

examination system under consideration is derived from

Cohn and Review (1974), which enables inclusion output

quality proxies in the form of examination results. A

number of countries, including Zimbabwe have developed

qualifications with the same name as and a similar format

to the British „‟A‟‟ Levels.

Attitude

Fishbein and Ajzen (1975) define an attitude as a general

feeling ranging from positive to negative or an evaluation

of good or bad a person has towards self, other people,

objects or even events.

Perception

20 | P a g e
Perception, according to Louw and Edwards (1997),

refers to those processes through which we give meaning

to information received by our senses from the

environment and involves the selection, organization and

interpretation of stimuli. Meanwhile social perception,

according to Allison et al (2000), refers to initial stages in

the processing of information that culminates in the

accurate analysis of the dispositions and intentions of

other individuals.

Attribution Bias

It refers to, according to Louw and Edwards (1997), to an

error or distortion in the way people make perceptions or

inferences about emotions, belief or motives.

Administrator

An administrator , according to Weik (1982), does what

managers do, namely; to monitor performance closely,

correct deviations from standards, specify job

descriptions, design routines to deal with problems, give

orders, make plans, consult, allocate resources and send

policy memos. An administrator in the context of this

study refers to heads of schools, deputy heads, senior

masters and heads of departments.

Summary

21 | P a g e
This chapter focused on the background and essence of

the study, research questions, assumptions, delimitations

and limitations of the study. It also highlighted the

purpose of the study, definition of key terms, justification

and significance of the study. The researcher also

reflected on some of his more than twelve years of

teaching experience in one of the schools that is involved

in inclusive education of learners with hearing

impairment. Therefore the researcher has some firsthand

information on issues pertaining to perceptions of

teachers, Para-professionals and regular students. And,

the next chapter will focus on the review of related

literature.

22 | P a g e
 Chapter Two

Review of Related Literature

Introduction

This chapter focuses on what other authorities have

written and observed regarding the inclusion of learners

with hearing impairment in regular Advanced Level

classes and inclusive education programmes in general.

The work shall be presented under various sub-topics.

The initial aspects shall deal with explaining the meaning

of inclusion and types of strategies used for placing

children with hearing impairment into regular schools.

The reasons for inclusion shall be looked at closely as

well as the attitudes and perceptions of other pupils,

stakeholders and educators. The focus shall extend to

the benefits of inclusive education, challenges and

necessary intervention strategies. The study seeks to

establish specific programmes and social networks for

systematic inclusion of hearing impaired students into

scientific disciplines in Gweru Urban district and beyond.

The meaning of inclusion hearing impaired students into

Advanced Level classes

According to the United Nations (UN)‟s Salamanca

Conference (1995) it was resolved that children with

23 | P a g e
special needs be educated in inclusive schools as a

matter of principle. It was argued that inclusive schools

are the most effective at building the solidarity between

children with special needs and their peers. This solidarity

was seen as leading one population of children instead of

two the non-disabled and the disabled who are often

discriminated against in curriculum choices.

Inclusion into regular Advanced Level classes requires

interdependence between all students through mutual

and reciprocal relationships. This arguably fosters the

shared and rewarding experiences that are likely to

provide equality of values, irrespective of physical state,

race, gender or religion. The assumption is that some

students with hearing impairment possess cognitive

abilities such that they can cope very well with basic skills

required in Advanced Level subjects. Generally the

researcher believes that their problems do not solely

emanate from visual impairment nor originate from

mental retardation or sensory impairments.

Therefore the researcher strongly feels that students with

hearing impairment can successfully be included in

regular Advanced Level classes as long as their condition

does not interfere with mobility, co-ordination,

communication and/ or muscular skeletal adjustments

during practical sessions, Varyrynen (1996), asserts that

24 | P a g e
there should be support and additional attention to

address specific needs of such students in this regard,

specialist teachers should be available to individualize the

curriculum content in order to cater for functional needs of

impaired students.

From Integration to Inclusion: A Historical

Perspective

The development of special needs education into

inclusion, according to Hardman et al (1999), has

eventually evolved over years. The parents of children

with disability according to Hergarty (1987) and Boston

(1980) were dissatisfied with the service provision for

their children in special schools. These parents then

initiated the change to total inclusion of such children

through advocacy groups. This development led to the

practice called mainstreaming in the United States of

America (USA).

Hardman et al (1999:36) focused on a model whereby

students with disabilities could remain at least for some

portion of the day and receive special education when

and where necessary. They spelt out the need for an

ongoing individual assessment in order to give the

student appropriate service all the time. The concept of

25 | P a g e
inclusion works closely with that of the least restrictive

environment (LRE). At the same time, similar practice to

mainstreaming were also taking shape in other countries

of Europe, Australia, Asia and Africa and were then

known as integration.

As early as the late 1950‟s societal treatment of people

with physical disabilities consisted of largely ridicule,

isolation, persecution for some and, to the extreme

punishment by stoning to death. Some were alleged to

have been treated as outcasts hence the society with

passage of time, began to view them as equal and

intellectually capable, therefore the need to integrate

them into all community activities. Varyrynen (1996)

concurs that inclusion goes deeper than integration in

addressing specific needs as it is more responsive and

calls for the changing process in many aspects of the

community life.

These are for example, teacher education practices

creating the social climate in the school which promotes

tolerance, improving problem solving skills and

developing appropriate evaluation and cooperative

learning. It should be stressed that inclusion does not in

any way deny the difference between students but

accepts the diversity as a positive aspect which calls for

specialist training, curricular modification and adaptation

26 | P a g e
of learning environment to befit all students, particularly in

high school, tertiary and technical institutions.

An international Perspective on Inclusion

Although all societies have historically developed

perceptions, attitudes and responses to learners with

learning barriers, the concern began with the emergence

of organized and widespread education for such learners

over the last two hundred years (Dyson & Forlin,

2007:25). In developed countries, such as the United

Kingdom, Scandinavia and the United States of America,

the process of industrialization was accompanied by the

rise of mass education systems, frequently having their

origins in local and charitable initiatives, but rapidly being

taken over and rationalized by the state. These systems

had to provide for learners with learning barriers.

Consequently, teaching learners with learning barriers in

the ordinary school has become a major concern for

educators. It is not surprising that educators might have

both negative and positive perceptions and feelings

towards the implementation of inclusive education. Those

feelings might range from lack of training, fear of job

losses, the inability of educators to cope with an

increased work load or dealing with complex disability

issues

27 | P a g e
The Processes of Integration and Inclusion of

learners

The first step, according to the Salamanca Conference

Report (1995) is the phased integration. This begins from

locational integration and leads to socio-functional

curricular which is psychological involvement which then

leads to inclusion. The second step is said to start from

the premise of supporting and reciprocal relationships,

through interdependence which subsumes psychological

curricular, functional, social and locational integration.

In order to realize inclusion in a group, school or

community there is a need to understand that that action

is complex and has unpredictable outcomes. And, that it

may in itself create imbalances in achieving the intended

aims. This may occur by manipulating the integration

variable that may as well change the nature of the whole

system that is sought to be made inclusive.

The understanding of such complexity requires a number

of frameworks for action. The first one is vision, which

goes along with knowledge and skills to operationalize

such vision. It therefore, goes without saying that

educators would need a variety of specialized skills to

support inclusion, especially in science subjects.

28 | P a g e
The other necessary framework has to do with incentives

to innovation. The exhortation through human rights

discussion may initially be successful, however and

unless the balance between acquisitions of scientific skills

is supported, exhortation alone may lead to long term

demoralization. The success of inclusion of such students

into scientific disciplines largely depends upon resources

both human and material, including the implementation

strategies. Therefore, unless resources are linked to skills

and incentives, resources alone may not guarantee the

desired change or outcomes.

According to the same Salamanca Conference Report

(1995), there is also the need for action plans to map out

the direction of change towards inclusion. The planning

which is an important tool needs to be dynamic and

holistic in the use of vision and mission statements to set

achievable strategies of change. The planning also needs

to be reflective as it deals with unpredictable outcomes of

the complex inclusion of individuals into heterogeneous

groups. The outcomes need to be understood in terms of

new technical aspects, contextual, moral and ethical

issues. And, according to the Warnock Report (1978) to

achieve inclusion are a process and a practice intimately

bound by personal attitudes, perceptions and

experiences modified through the exercise of proper

29 | P a g e
sense of judgment. This is particularly true for the local

science curriculum and its methods of enquiry which aims

at developing creativity, initiativeness, accuracy,

precision, objectivity and integrity. And, whose other aims

include development of good practices for health, safety,

communication of scientific information and overall

participation in technological advancement, as stated in

the Zimbabwe Examinations Council (1996) syllabus for

Ordinary Level integrated science.

Integration versus Inclusion of Learners

There seems to be a tendency to use integration and

inclusion as synonymous which is not proper and helpful

because these need to be separated.

The Warnock Report (1978) described the integration of

children with special needs into mainstream school into

three broad perspectives. The first is locational

integration which is viewed a situation whereby units are

on the same site as in mainstream schools and all

students irrespective of disability learn together. The

other is social integration whereby children attending

special classes socialize together, for example in the

playing fields at break times. And, functional integration

which refers to a situation where there is a joint

30 | P a g e
participation in educational programmes and these

require careful planning of whole-class and individual

teaching programmes. All forms of integration according

to Warnock Report (1978) assume some form of

assimilation of impaired students into mainstream

schooling.

Inclusion, according to the same Warnock Report is

about children‟s right to belong to their local mainstream

school, to be valued for whom they are and to be

provided with all the necessary support in a mainstream

school. It should, therefore, be seen as the school‟s equal

opportunity practice and policy. It requires commitment

from the whole staff, parents, community, whole political

leadership and full diversity of all children.

Inclusion is not “static” like integration, but a “continuous”

process. It is about building a school community that

accepts and values differences through various activities.

Some of the activities could be whole class discussions,

individualized learning, assemblies, pupil councils,

integrated or interactive and collaborative approaches to

learning for example in science subjects.

There are a number of principles that have been adopted

by various schools to guide them into their journey to

inclusion. There are for example, emphasizing the

31 | P a g e
impaired students‟ right to support which they need in

regular science classes. The benefit of inclusion to all

children is irrespective of physical state, ethnic

background, race or gender.

Inclusion, according to Varyrynen (1996), is one of the

strategies for countering exclusion and marginalization. It

is much more than integration in that it addresses the

question of access to quality education in all aspects the

curricula, irrespective of condition. It differs greatly from

integration which carried with it the notion of bringing

together and mixing students with handicaps and those

without in the same physical environment and without

regard for quality of life. Varyrynen (2000) asserts that

inclusion is about making educational and social sense to

those with special needs, through the process of

increased participation in learning programmes and

removing any barriers and attribution biases that inhibit

the learner from accessing the full curriculum.

According to Varyrynen (2000) inclusion is based on five

common beliefs. These are that firstly people are different

that societies are involved in creating both similarities and

differences, that all people have human rights including

that of education. And, that it is not illogical to demand

one‟s own rights. And furthermore that people belong to

one society in which they have important roles to play.

32 | P a g e
However, Foster (1989:59) found that schools are

institutions where social skills are deliberately included in

the curriculum.

Integration of children with Special Educational Needs in

mainstream schools was described in the Warnock

Report (1978) as:

Locational integration: Where units are on the

same site as mainstream schools and disabled

and non-disabled children can familiarise

themselves with each other.

Social integration: Where children attending

special classes and units socialise in the

playground, at lunch and assembly.

Functional integration: Where there is joint

participation in educational programmes, which

requires careful planning of class and individual

teaching programmes.

All forms of integration assume some form of assimilation

of the disabled child into the mainstream school. Equally

appropriate, according to Freire (1972:76) is the

methodology for thematic investigations and problem-

posing education and effort to present significant

dimensions of every individual contextually, in reality and

33 | P a g e
with the analysis of various interactions in learning. The

author emphasizes dialogical education which he

believes is more humanist, conscientizing, liberating and

generates communication and critical thinking in

students, as opposed to the banking concept of education

which is said to encourage rote learning and is

dehumanization, causes passity, indoctrination and

immorality.

Re-defining Inclusion

Inclusion is the current educational strategy for students

with disabilities in general and needs to be understood in

the proper context. It is the acceptance of people with

disabilities as an integral part of society in as much as

they have rights as any other individual. Everyone has a

right to education, according to Article 26 of UN‟s

Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which should be

free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages.

The article further states that technical and professional

and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on

the bases of merit. And, it further calls for the direction of

education towards full development of human personality,

strengthening of respect for human rights and

fundamental freedoms, tolerance and friendship among

all people, racial, religious and any other groupings.

Therefore, removing people with disabilities from their

34 | P a g e
communities into so called special schools, would be

highly unacceptable, except only if it is in their own

interest and benefits.

The new concept of inclusion requires commitment from

both regular school community and special needs

education professionals. In essence, it requires support

services to be consistent with the needs of handicapped

students at various levels and in different displines. There

can be people with minimal disabilities that are not

independent due to environmental factors, which may

make them more paralysed psychologically, socially and

economically. Inclusion is therefore more of a

psychological and socialization process than just physical

integration. It positively affects the individual since society

and the individual become one entity. The process

embraces an equivocal acceptance by society, with

adequate support systems and the access to

opportunities even in the natural sciences, with reciprocity

in the value each other as a community.

The Least Restrictive Environment [LRE]

The best practices in Special Education require that

children learn from the least restrictive environment

(LRE). This concept assumes that special education is

continuum from regular schools to custodial care. The

35 | P a g e
progression from regular schools to custodial care is

believed to be towards more restrictiveness, while the

reverse is seen as denoting the movement towards least

restrictiveness in educational service provision for people

with disabilities.

The concept of the least restrictive environment should

be in the perspective of accessing the curriculum with

both values to social and academic spheres. Therefore

the environment should be less restrictive if it is to

facilities the acquisition of both academic and social

skills, and according to Mpofu (2000), it is actually

restrictive if it breaches them from either social or

academic skills.

Inclusion versus Exclusion

Exclusion occurs when a student does not receive

instruction from any school, according to Hicks (2011),

and in the past most students have been excluded from

school. Normalization, according to Varyrynen (2000) is

the principle of looking at people with disabilities as an

integral part of society. Therefore, education for such

people has to be focused towards reducing the level of

exclusion in the person with a disability. And, as such, it

is the basic principle in the education, training and care of

people with disabilities. Normalization as a principle is

36 | P a g e
said to have originated from the philosophy of acceptance

of such people and avoiding their exclusion as part of the

mainstream society.

Both integration and inclusion are strategies to support

maximum normalization. However, inclusion looks at the

practical aspects of that fulfillment of the overall goal of

normalization. In fact, inclusion is seen as both the

process and the product in the education of people with

disabilities in the least restrictive environment.

Inclusion as Human Rights

The premise that inclusion is a human rights issue has

been getting increasingly louder voice since the advent of

civil rights movement in the 1960‟s and 1970‟s in the

United States of USA. According to U.N (1985), on

December 1948, the General Assembly of the U.N.

adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of

Human Rights, the full text of which appears in U.N.

publications. Following this historic act the Assembly

called upon all member countries to publicize the text of

the Declaration and to “cause it to be disseminated,

displayed, read and expounded principally in schools and

other educational institutions, without distributions based

on the political status of countries”. The first of the thirty

37 | P a g e
articles states that all human beings are born free and

equal in dignity and rights.

The resultant expansion of rights for students with

disabilities was one major consequence of civil rights

movement. The segregation and in human treatment of

people with disabilities was made unconstitutional. And,

the advocates for people with disabilities pushed further

for their expansion by challenging practices of exclusion

from, for example, many forums, programmes and certain

curricular such as scientific disciplines.

This also resulted in the human rights dimension taking

centre stage in the organization of African Unity (OAU)

now African Unity (AU), and the UN. This also gave rise

to the promulgation of further articles on the rights of

children with disabilities. The OAU and UN chapters

became catalysts for spurring inclusion as the only

human way and best practice for treating different people,

particularly those with various forms of disability.

Both the UN Charter on the rights of children and the

African Charter make significant attempts to convince

governments to meet the rights of people with disabilities.

And, to ensure their full participation in communication at

all levels of life, especially in the education sector. Freire

(1972) asserts that critical thinking requires effective

38 | P a g e
communication and without it there can be no true

education. Launders an d Weaver (1997) in Hardman et

al (1999) argue that since inclusion is the unqualified

acceptance and fostering of students‟ growth at any level.

Therefore, adults particularly educationists must be able

to design appropriate educational opportunities that foster

the individual student‟s growth within the context of his or

her interests and talents and among appropriate peers.

Such opportunities would naturally include the right to

education, nondiscrimination and to a rich and “full” life

with full community participation.

General Class Placement in Inclusive Schools

Spencer (19980 advocated for an inclusive programme

which he coined the “general class placement” with

resource teachers and general or regular education

teachers making team teaching. The programme in

general class placement will be implemented by allowing

resource teachers to work collaboratively within general

class settings with all teachers assisting students.

Chimedza and Peters (2001) argued that the

Zimbabwean inclusive education programs have not yet

reached such heights of expected development. Marilyn

and Bursuck (1996) wrote of general class placement

which has related services, such as those required to

assist the child to benefit from inclusive education. The

39 | P a g e
required services should ideally be provided by resource

and specialist teachers. Such services may include;

auditory requirements, physical environment, speech and

language therapy or communication and other assistive

devices that may be necessary.

Reasons for the Inclusion of Learners with Hearing

Impairment

Spencer (1998) argued that children with hearing

impairment are involved in inclusive education

programmes solely for the normalization purposes. The

inclusive principle seeks to provide social interactions and

experiences that are equal to those of society. The

principle also rests upon the philosophy that educational,

housing, employment, social and leisure opportunities for

individuals with disabilities should resemble as close as

possible the pattern and activities which are enjoyed by

their counter parts who are not handicapped.

De-institutionalization from Special to Inclusive

Schools

Having and McCommick (1990) in Marylyn and Bursuck

(1996) declares that inclusive education is implemented

as a gesture of ending the existence of special schools.

They further regard it as a way of eliminating large

institutions for people with disability. The process of de-

40 | P a g e
institutionalization allows such students to be placed in

smaller communities based on independent living

arrangements. The views regarding de-institutionalization

by the above authors are observed by this researcher as

a way of trying to even de-congest or reduce the number

of students in the Zimbabwean special education.

Technological Advances

Spencer (1998) reports that medical and assistive

technological devices have promoted the inclusive

education movement such assistive devices have

invaluably empowered the individuals, particularly those

with sensory impairments to gain greater access to

general education. The advent of computerization,

internet usage and in particular use of e-learning

programmes has contributed immensely to inclusive

education. The organization, National Association of

societies for the care of the handicapped [NASCOH] in

the NewsDay of Friday 11, 2011 recognizes that there

are social, legal, economic, political and environmental

conditions that act as barriers to full exercise rights by

People with Disabilities [PWDs]. It claims that it is seeking

ways to respect, support and celebrate human diversity

by creating conditions that allow meaningful participation

by a wide range of people including (PWDs) by protecting

and promoting their right, while exploring adopting

41 | P a g e
technological measures to dismantle barriers and change

attitudes that stigmatize and marginalize them.

Advocacy Groups and Inclusion

Gardiner (1997) commented that the rise of advocacy

groups of organizations of parents, professionals and

individuals with disabilities contributed heavily to inclusive

education movements. In addition to the promotion of

awareness on relevant issues, they also lobby the state,

governments, politicians and legislations to bring forward

laws and regulations that are favorable and protest at

these laws that promote exclusion and segregation.

Hadebe (1993) and Peters (1997) indicated that in

Zimbabwe there are a number of advocacy groups for

people with disabilities, whose functions are partly to

claim rights for such people. One of organizations is the

national wide Jairos Jiri institutions and the other is said

to be led by the former Mayor of Bulawayo, Joshua

Malinga. He, according to the Chronicle of 26 February

2007, was calling for the urgent review of Public

Assistance Funds towards the handicapped during the

then hyper-inflationary environment. and some are calling

making sign language in all Teacher Training Institutions.

National Association of societies for the care of the

handicapped [NASCOH] in the NewsDay of Friday 11,

42 | P a g e
2011 espouses a rights based approach to disability,

which recognizes that social exclusion and the unique

challenges faced by People with Disabilities [PWPs] were

not natural and unavoidable consequences of their

physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairment, but

largely a result of societies‟ failure to be inclusive and

accommodative to individual differences.

Legal Framework for Inclusion

Many declarations, policies and regulations have been

enacted in recent years at local, regional and

international levels to promote the right of persons with

disabilities to inclusive education and equality in all

spheres of community life. At International level, these

include the Warnock Report (1978), Salamanca

Conference (1994) and the Jontien Conference (1990).

Most of these declarations according to Nirje (1992) and

Wolfensburger (1992) are based on the principle of

normalization. Governments should therefore be guided

by such declarations and statements in making policies,

regulations, laws and legal all instruments that affect

children, students, employees and all people with

disabilities.

Kockler et al (2000) and Karikoga (1996) related that the

movement towards inclusion has been influenced by

43 | P a g e
legislation and litigation which supported the need for a

free and appropriate education. Taymans (2000),

lamented that the segregation of students on the bases of

disability as totally unconstitutional. The same author

argues that it was a refusal of doctrine of segregation

which served as the underlying question brought up by

most affected parents to ensure that their children receive

free and appropriate public education.

Chimedza (1993) pointed out that the education of pupils

with disabilities is included in the Zimbabwe Education

Act 1987. The Act stipulates that all children have the

same right to education which necessitates the inclusion

of children with impairment into regular education system.

Curriculum Issues in Successful Inclusion

Curriculum, according to Baine (1988:5), is the content

and sequence of knowledge to be taught in an area of

instruction. Badza and Chakachichi (2000), define

curriculum as all the opportunities provided by the school

for learning which includes; lesson content teaching

methods, attitudes, relationships, staff management,

parental involvement and distribution of support services.

The concept of inclusion concerns itself with the access,

content, progression and teaching methods in all parts of

the curriculum. Physical access includes removing all

44 | P a g e
obstacles and barriers in the environment for example;

provision of adapted toilets, elevators and other assistive

devices to enable all students‟ access to educational

facilities in any part of super structures. For students with

visual impairment, there is need for communication

access in form of braille writing materials, and sign

language training for hearing impaired. Special

adjustments are also necessary for students with variable

impairment forms to access the curriculum, for example,

by changing the medium of instruction, sequencing of

content, adjusting quantity and quality of subject matter to

appropriate levels. This may also include the adjustment

of the organizational framework of the school, or

departments such as the sciences, to improve access,

interactions and relevant support systems, like laboratory

equipment, designs and furniture layouts. Most

laboratories, according to Creedy (1977), seem to suffer

from poorly designed systems because of the architect‟s

quest for unnecessary space rather than adequate

capacity for specific learning needs and demands for

possible safety and efficiency.

Regular Teachers‟ Perceptions towards Inclusive

Education

The primary role of teachers is to educate children as

much as possible so as to enable them to exploit all their

45 | P a g e
abilities to the greatest extent. However, different

teachers display variable attitudes and perceptions on the

notion of inclusion, especially in consideration of

expertise, and the ever deteriorating infrastructure, and

resource mobilization in most mainstream schools. Davis

and Silverman (1978) noted that generally regular

education teachers do express concern over inclusive

education programmes. This is perhaps due to the fact

that most of them would have not undergone the

necessary specialist training to acquire the relevant

knowledge and skills required. Most regular teachers,

according to the same authors, are said to believe in their

inadequacy in adapting the curriculum for inclusive

education purposes, particularly in dealing with social,

medical and physical aspects.

Hadebe (1993), expressed concern in that some regular

teachers report that instructional demands of meeting

academic and behavioural needs of students with

hearing impairments create an added burden that

decrease their own ability to satisfy academic needs for

the “normal” students. This is said to be so due to the

fact that regular teachers are not specialists by training.

Stein (1981), further states that the extra-burden on

regular teachers seem to increase their own frustration

46 | P a g e
and distress which may in turn cause them to socially

reject special need students.

Despite concerns raised by other regular teachers,

Marylin and Bursuck (1996) claim that some general

school teachers saw inclusion as providing them with

support and degree of relief associated with some other

stresses of regular class teaching. This, they attribute to

the provision of opportunities to interact and share a

variety of teaching styles and strategies. Demmer and

Griffin as quoted in Spencer (1998), noted the general

education teachers who taught in inclusive schools

reported personal efficiency and higher ratings in

competence scores than their peers in traditional

classroom arrangements.

Similarly, Chimedza (1993) mentioned that local regular

teachers involved in inclusive education programmes of

children with impaired hearing expressed positive feelings

about the collaborative teaching arrangements, and that it

makes their own teaching more enjoyable and

stimulating. Some are said to have reported that inclusive

education programmes afford them the opportunity to

experiment with new teaching methodologies and to gain

insights into other beliefs, dimensions and diverse

teaching practices.

47 | P a g e
This researcher, having worked at one of the inclusive

schools for eleven years between the periods 1997 to

2008, regards some of the attitudes of regular teachers

as retrogressive especially in this modern society. He

noted that some teachers still advocate for the

institutionalization of students with disability in special

schools with little or no interaction with the community at

large. However, some seem to be carrying the

contemporary and progressive views that advocate for

the inclusion and total normalization. The researcher also

applauds decision taken by the Zimbabwe Open

University (ZOU) to embark on a programme, as reported

in the Gweru Times, 17 December 2006, to educate the

general public, police, nurses, and other public officers,

on sign language. This will most likely improve

communication between hearing impaired and the

general public as agreeably reported in the same

Newspaper.

The „normal‟ hearing students‟ attitudes towards

inclusion

Heir (1975), as quoted in Davies and Silverman (1978)

and in Martin and Clark (1996), noted that inclusive

education programmes gives special teachers the

opportunity to work in general education classrooms with

both students with or without disabilities. This results in

48 | P a g e
the so called “incidental” benefits that accrue to regular

students. These are such as access to individualized

instruction, availability of specialists and opportunity to

experience human diversity at first hand. The above

authors also argued that inclusive education programmes

facilitate the development of more a positive attitude

among peers. Zindi (1993) also went further to say that it

necessitates meaningful cooperation and friendship

between students with or without impairments. However,

Hergarty and Pockington (1990) and Moores (1982),

lamented some attitudes of “normal” students as negative

in that they may develop into foes of inclusion due to

certain beliefs and myths. The same authors further

argue that the “hearing‟ students may keep themselves

aloof due to what they may perceive as contagious

disability.

Leedy (1993) reiterated that such students may

deliberately isolate those students with hearing

impairment as reported in the Gweru Times, 17

December 2006, or may simply dislike associating with

them due to attribution biases of perceived poor

performance without factoring conditions which may be

instrumental to their level of competence.

49 | P a g e
Having noted various views, the researcher also shares

some of the views, for instance that inclusive education

programmes are more likely to help the regular students

develop personal, moral and ethical principles that reflect

greater sensitivity to the needs of others, especially

empathy to those in difficult circumstances.

Perceptions held by Learners with Hearing

Impairments towards Inclusion

Spencer (1998), Paul and Quigly (1994), and Hint and

Stamb (1990) in Moores (1982), have a number of views

on the attitudes of children with hearing impairment

towards inclusive education. They argue that inclusive

education programmes have had positive effects on

academic performance behaviour and social

development of such students. They also explain that

positive attitudes have been exhibited by impaired

students as they came to recognize that the mainstream

education did enabled them to acquire certain skills and

enhanced their time utilization as compared to their

peers in special schools.

The same children, according to the same authors are

said to have developed a favour for inclusive education

due to realization that they tend to gain much more in

terms of functional skills than those in segregated

50 | P a g e
institutions. Benergi and Daley (2000) in Spencer (1998)

indicated that children with disabilities tend to develop

positive attitudes towards inclusive education as it tends

to lead them to more self-esteem and actualization.

However, Mdenge (1986) shared a different view by

arguing that inclusive education does not provide the

required special education as the life for the mainly deaf

is said to be characterized by fear, frustration, ridicule

and isolation. Such effects are said to generally

contribute towards the development of negative attitudes

towards the philosophy of inclusion.

However, researcher feels that children with hearing

impairments do develop either positive or negative

attitudes depending on the society, local environmental

experiences and especially how peers respond to their

situation. The researcher noted from his own personal

experience with children with hearing impairment, that not

many of them proceed to advanced level studies. This

was observed at Ascot High School in Gweru, which

enrolls such students from the Jairos Jiri Naran Centre.

And the fact that he had a chance to teach some of such

students for twelve years up to Ordinary Level of the

General Certificate of Education standard.

51 | P a g e
Perceptions held by Parents of “Normal” Hearing

Students towards Inclusion

The parents of non-disabled children view inclusive

education with mixed reactions and feelings. Nolan and

Tacker (1981), Winzer (1996) and Saland, (1995)

expressed the notion that parents of “normal” hearing

children seem to maintain some negative attitudes

towards inclusive education programme. Some seem to

fear that the needs of impaired students might be so

severe that they may disrupt or compromise the

education of their own children. Some have been cited by

the same authors as saying “…the best environment for

children with special needs is not necessarily a typical

classroom”. The above authors argue that some parents

are heavily opposed to inclusive education programmes

for fear of their own children may imitate undesirable

habits and „‟inappropriate” behaviours associated with

children with impaired hearing or other forms of disability.

On a different note, Zindi (1997) indicated, however that

some parents have reported that mainstreaming seemed

to have enhanced the lives of their own children in a

positive way. In agreement, Cogan (1997) in Zindi (1997)

related the same that non-handicapped children who had

been placed in an inclusive class, expressed less fear

and prejudice towards other children who looked

52 | P a g e
different. Wood et al (1998), also argue that the presence

of non-handicapped in classrooms seemed to have had a

positive impact on their own handicapped children‟s

social, emotional and moral development.

Perceptions held by Parents of Learners with Hearing

Impairments

Saland (1998), underscored that parents of children with

hearing impairments „‟fight‟‟ hard to have their children

placed in general education inclusive classes. Wood eta

al (1998), also noted that such parents want their children

to have the same experiences and opportunities as those

enjoyed by “normal” children. Most authorities seem to

contend that inclusive education provides parents of

children with disabilities with positive role models for

building confidence. Such parents are reported to be

generally supportive towards inclusive programmes which

they believe are non –restrictive environments for their

children and serve as a primary source of emotional

support.

However, Leedy (1993) argued that some parents of

children maintain negative attitudes towards inclusive

education. He argues further that such parents believe

that such placement may result in their children losing

individualized services characteristic of most resource

53 | P a g e
rooms and which they believe seem to be best for

addressing unique needs of their children. Similarly,

Chimedza and Peters (2001) observed that most

Zimbabwe parents of children with hearing impairment

are fearful of mainstream education as they believe their

children may become targets of herbal abuse and

ridicule.

This researcher believes that inclusive education is vital

for cultivating positive attitudes and perceptions of all

members of society towards the less privileged, provided

that a conducive and appropriate environment is

estimated for all to realize their maximum potentials.

Such an environment should naturally address their

physical, social, psychological, emotional and intellectual

concerns.

The Benefits of Inclusive Education to Learners with

Hearing Impairment

A number of benefits are believed to be realized or

accrue to learners with hearing impairments. Children in

inclusive classes have more knowledge about long-term

consequences of disabilities than children in regular

school classes, according to Diamond, etal (1997) and

addition, children in inclusive settings seems to have

significantly higher acceptance ratings to children with

54 | P a g e
and without disabilities than children in regular school

classes. Some of these are highlighted below;

Social Benefits of Inclusion

Martin and Clark (1996,) regard inclusive education as

creating equal opportunities for children with hearing

impairments to be interacting with other peers physically.

They argue that this enables them to experience „normal‟

utterances of speech and language which in turn

enhances their own social interactive skills. Stron and

Meadow (1980), argue that certain social qualities are

easily acquired by deaf people when placed in inclusive

classrooms. Hadebe (1993) narrated that such inclusive

programmes in Zimbabwe enables some students with

disabilities to learn social virtues, like love,

cooperativeness, sympathy and social adjustment.

Equality and Inclusion

Abkarian (1981) asserted that the philosophy of inclusion

promotes the principle of equality between the deaf and

hearing students. Inclusion benefits not only students with

disabilities, according to Villa and Thousand (2005), but

all students, educators, parents and the community as

they can change the segregated special education

system into an inclusive service delivery system. Wood et

al (1981) shared the same view by adding that such

55 | P a g e
programmes make it possible for impaired students to

use educational facilities on equal grounds with their

counterparts.

Academic Competence and Inclusion

Students in general seem to be deficient at one stage in

one or more forms of academic or other competencies.

Karr (1996), Northen and Downs (1979) noted that some

educators believe that inclusive education programmes

can improve children‟s academic performances. Special

education is blamed by many in the inclusive schools

movement as being responsible for general education's

failure to accommodate diverse student needs, according

to Fuchs and Fuchs (1993) and believers in full inclusion

are urged to put the specific needs of individual children

first and to compromise with general education. The

results, according to Myklebust (2006), indicate that

students receiving special support in ordinary classes

obtain vocational or academic qualifications more often

than students in special classes.

Elimination of Stigma and Inclusion

Northern and Downs (1979) also believe that inclusive

education can be used to eliminate effects of stigma and

labeling directed toward students with disabilities.

Inclusion at the school means students are integrated so

56 | P a g e
fully they often don‟t realize who has been classified as a

special education student and who has not, according to

Butrymowicz (2012). Louw and Edwards (1997:725),

argue that many negative perceptions may lead to the

“self-fulfilling prophecies” in most students.

Extracurricular Activities and Inclusion

Students with hearing impairment may also be deficient in

physical fitness to some extent due to limited

performance linked to lack of opportunities and

specialized equipment in some cases. The Reader‟s

Digest (1984), suggests that sporting activities provide

aerobic exercises that quickly assume total fitness which

is an essentially part of improving and maintaining

physical and social wellbeing as well as a healthy living

and mind.

Benefits of Inclusion to “Normal” Hearing Students

Martin and Clark (1996) indicated that sign language is

one of the crucial components of inclusive education

enjoyed by the “normal” hearing students. The “normal”

students also discover and explore differences and

similarities amongst them and their counterparts and

appreciate the concept of human diversity Gardniner

(1977) reiterates that most students discover more

57 | P a g e
common similarities than differences thereby building

long lasting relationships for some.

Benefits of Inclusive Education to Regular Class

Teachers

Nolan and Tacker (1981), Martin and Clark (1996) and

Moores (1982) reported that mainstreaming programmes

provide regular teachers with a chance to be guided by

specialist teachers on how to plan and individualize their

teaching methodologies. The regular teachers are

supposed to benefit from co-operative and interactive

learning as they work together with specialist teachers.

The same authors also emphasize that it enables regular

teachers to gain and acquire necessary insight and skills

for tackling “live” problems which may be encountered in

the teaching of children with hearing impairments.

Karikoga (1986) also stated that mainstreaming

programme in Zimbabwe give teachers the leisure to

realize individual differences and develop positive

attitudes towards children with hearing impairments.

Inclusive Education and National Development

Historically the Education of students with disabilities has

been that of exclusion and denial of human rights. The

expansion of equality, freedom and justice ushered a

58 | P a g e
movement from segregationist patterns towards inclusion

for ensuring equal educational opportunities for all

children. The equalization of opportunities extends to

encompass all facets of the child‟s development including

socio-economic aspects.

The ultimate goal of education should be to ensure and

ease children with disabilities‟ transition from school to

the workplace, where they are supposed to contribute to

national development as equal and full partners. The

curriculum should therefore be used as a vehicle for

empowerment of such people to contribute to the socio-

economic development of their country. The curriculum

should also activate and motivate such students for full

community participation in the economic development of

the nation which should as well provide them with a

cultural identity.

The world of work, according to Louw and Edwards

(1997:536) is of cardinal importance for any adult‟s

psychological development. They argue that the

importance of work lies not just in the income, but

provides frameworks for people‟s lives, creates structure,

interactions, enhances self-esteem, status, national

identity including the economic development for a

country.

59 | P a g e
Challenges in the Implementation of Inclusive

Education

In Zimbabwe and other developing countries, the severity

of disability poses great challenges to inclusion especially

for children with severe and multiple disabilities. These

seem to be more difficult to include in regular schools,

particularly in specialized science subjects, like Physics,

Chemistry and Biology. Such challenges can be viewed

from a number of dimensions for example, type of

disability and severity, limited resources and capital base,

attitudes, perceptions and inherent tradition of exclusion.

Chimedza and Peters (2001), and Karikoga (1996) cited

some of the problems of implementing inclusive

education as a compromise of academic standards of

regular schools due to the demand that naturally emanate

from, for example the physical layout of buildings and

general infrastructure. Abkarian (1981) and Karr (1996)

view the existence a pragmatic concern over

unpreparedness of schools to mobilize adequate

resources for inclusive education and environmental

modifications. Meadow (1980), further argues that the

inclusion of pupils with hearing loss in regular classes

places stress on the administration for hiring requisite

external specialists such as speech therapist and

audiologists.

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Zindi (1993) also cited inclusive education programme as

quite expensive and meanwhile Koklar (2000) dwelled on

other alleged flows such as calling it the misplacement of

children with disabilities. On a similar note, Martin and

Clark (1996) lamented the alleged “professional isolation”

and marginalization of specialist teachers in inclusive

schools, as there is usually one in each ordinary school in

Zimbabwe.

Critical Issues in Successful Inclusion

There are some critical issues that impinge on the

success of inclusion practices, such as the cost benefit

analysis, communication needs of the deaf, the least

restrictiveness of the learning environment and the quality

of education.

The instructional process of the deaf is complex due to

the prerequisite to develop another language for

communication, the sign language, and the development

of a „‟deaf culture‟‟. The development of a deaf culture,

according to Foster (1980), enhances the interactions

between deaf students themselves, and further argues

that inclusion does not facilitate this culture. They also

argue that inclusion does not enhance the social and

emotional development of students with hearing

impairment in the same manner as residential institutions.

61 | P a g e
Foster (1989), further criticized inclusive settings for

disadvantaging the deaf in terms of personal and social

adjustment.

The context of the least restrictive environment should be

in the perspective of accessing both the social and

academic curriculum. For some students, the special

residential schools may be less restrictive in terms of

accessing the social and academic curriculum than

regular schools due to a serious and deliberate focus on

socialization by special the same schools. And, in

regular schools such socialization aspect is often

assumed not planned. The social interactions at break

times and during sporting activities are often just

assumptions. In reality students with disability may suffer

from isolation and patronizing practices, according to

Foster (1980). Therefore the issue of the least restrictive

environment is a real critical issue in the education of

people with disabilities in terms of real access to

curricula.

Another factor is the access to quality education which

fosters the normalization process. This includes the

appropriateness of educational practices to develop

competent individuals who are able to contribute in some

way to the welfare of the society. Therefore it is important

that the access be tied to quality in terms of provision,

62 | P a g e
availability of resources, adequacy of expertise and

amendable societal perceptions on disability holistically.

In inclusion, specialized equipment, environmental

modification and appropriate human expertise are

accessed in the same context of local regular schools to

enhance the quality of life for students with disability.

The other critical factor according to Foster (1980) is

teacher practices which need to be brought in the context

of the regular schools. Most specials schools, he claims,

were found to increase the manageability of children with

special needs than in inclusive ones which lack

adequately trained specialist teachers. Therefore an

inclusive teacher education programme would enhance

the availability of such skills needed in inclusive settings.

According to Warnock (1978:226), it is vital that those

teachers with a defined responsibility for children with

special education needs that they should have

considerable expertise in specialist education

Summary

The inclusive education programmes have generally

been viewed as a process by which students with special

needs are educated with other “normal” children without

disability in any subject area for the purpose of

normalization. It has been further established that

63 | P a g e
children with hearing impairments are placed in regular

schools for different reasons. It has also been noted that

the children placed in or included in regular schools,

develop variable forms of attitudes, perceptions and

attributions. Finally, it was found from related literature

that children's knowledge of disabilities, their overall

acceptance of individuals without disabilities, and their

participation in an inclusive class contributed significantly

and independently to their acceptance of children with

disabilities. However, the implementation of such

ambitious programmes cannot be exonerated from

various problems such as under capitalization, unstable

economic bases and sometimes hyper inflationary

environment which are characteristic of some sub-

Saharan and developing countries.

64 | P a g e
65 | P a g e
 Chapter Three

Research Methodology

Introduction

This chapter attempts to explain the research methods

used in the collection of data. It focuses on sampling

procedures, research design, methodology, population

data and data analysis. This chapter also pays attention

at some strengths and weaknesses of using chosen

research instruments. A number of techniques are utilized

and the phenomenon of triangulation as explained by

Laucy (1993) was also considered. Data triangulation

involves using different methods or a variety of sources of

information in order to increase the validity of a study

Research Design

The study was qualitative in nature and it sought to

establish the perceptions and challenges that hinder

learners with hearing impairment from participation in

Advanced Level classes in Gweru Urban schools. The

study sought to gather the true and actual feelings,

opinions, attitudes, and the perceptions of the

respondents. Qualitative study was used, because it is

interactive (Silverman, 2005). The method used in this

study was the descriptive survey method and it enabled

66 | P a g e
the researcher to work with a limited number of cases

and to draw up conclusions that would cover the

generality of the whole population. Bless and Smith

(1995:45) defines survey as the collection of information

on a wide range of cases being investigated only on the

particular aspect under consideration. Motshumu and

Kadenge (1991:11), view research design as the

arrangement of conditions and analysis of data in the

manner that aims to combine relevance to the research

purpose with the economy of procedure. Motshumu and

Kadenge (1991) further state that it is a set of procedures

that reduces error and simultaneously help the

researcher to obtain empirical evidence about isolated

variables of interest. And, Mutubuki (2014) asserts that it

is scientific a method that presupposes empirical

evidence, especially when dealing with things like matter,

fauna and flora. In selecting the research design,

according to Mutubuki (2014), one has to bear in mind its

strengths and limitations.

Babbie (1979) states that there are various research

designs, some of which are experimental and descriptive

surveys. This design was described by Babbie (1979), as

a method of research which describes what is observed

and discovered in a quest to solve problems. Chikoko

67 | P a g e
and Muroyi (1996), state that the descriptive survey is an

excellent vehicle for measurements of attitudes and

orientations prevalent in a large population.

The researcher opted for the descriptive survey method

because of number of reasons. The first one is that the

method enabled the researcher to observe and analyze

the present status of the phenomenon in the inclusion of

learners with hearing impairment into regular Advanced

Level classes. It also enabled the researcher to select a

small group of respondents as a representative of a large

group. The strengths of survey method, according to

Mutubuki (2014:30), are that the efficient collection of

data on large number of individuals is possible and that

precise answers can be made between answers of

respondents.

Teachers and Administrators in schools were selected to

represent the entire group of educators. Furthermore the

research method is seen as the best method for the

measurement of perceptions, attitudes and orientations

prevalent in a large population of educators. As a method

of collecting views to investigate these attitudes and

perceptions, a standardized questionnaire and an

interview schedule were employed.

68 | P a g e
The descriptive survey research, according to Robson

(1993:49), is probably the best method which is available

to use in collecting original data. And, the methods were

quite useful in soliciting information through the use of

questionnaires, interviews, and to a less extend

observations. A variety of opinions, attitudes perceptions,

feelings, perspectives, suggestions and ideas were

sampled. According to Rayrist (1977) in Taylor and

Bogdan (1984), qualitative methodology refers to, on the

broader sense to the research that produces descriptive

data, that is the people‟s own written or spoken words

observable behavior, which is in a way is more than a set

of data gathering techniques, in approaching the

empirical world.

The Target Population

Heppner et al (1992), define a population as a well-

defined group of human beings or other entities that could

be included in a study. The population comprised of all

educators who were at their place of work at two different

schools selected in Gweru Urban. Therefore with regard

to this study, the target of thirty four (34) educators was

randomly selected from a population of educators at

Guinea Fowl and Mambo High Schools in Gweru Urban

District. The respondents were selected irrespective of

gender and promotional positions. Mambo high school is

69 | P a g e
a former group “B” school located in the high density

suburbs which enrolls a significant number of learners

with hearing impairment in Gweru urban District. Guinea

Fowl High School is a former-group “A” school located in

in Gweru Peri-urban Area which enrolls a minority of

students with variable forms of physical disabilities as

well.

The Sample

Modily (1984), defines sampling as a selection of a

number of respondents from a target population of

respondents. Bennet (1997: 15), also defines a sample

as the part of population that is selected to represent the

entire group. A sample of two schools was selected by

stratified random sampling, that is, the schools were

divided into homogenous groups (groups containing

similar characteristics) that is two high schools in

Gweru urban but one being a former -group “A” and the

other a former- group “B” and one is located in the high

density suburbs whilst the other is located in the peri-

urban area which is a semi–rural setting.

The researcher focussed on the perceptions of teachers,

pupils and school administrators at one go for the

purposes of validating and triangulating the information

from different informants on the difficulties learners with

70 | P a g e
hearing impairment encounter or those they are likely to

face in the learning of subjects at “A” Level.

Thirty four educators (34) from the schools were

randomly selected from the two schools in Gweru District

and these acted as a sample. This group was composed

of educators involved in the regular education and, on the

other hand, those with marginal experience in the

education of learners with hearing impairment, including

other forms of disability. The two schools were

categorized as school “A” for Guinea Fowl High School, a

regular school with marginal experience in handling

classes involving learners with variable forms of disability

and school “B” for Mambo High School, a school

involved in inclusive education for the hearing impaired in

collaboration with Jairos Jiri Naran Centre for the Deaf.

Another group of seven (7) educators per school were

randomly selected as respondents for interviews for the

purpose of triangulation and to consolidate the results

that would have come from the questionnaire.

Sampling Technique

The random sampling technique was be used to select

respondents for this study since it afforded each member

among educators and school administrators an equal

71 | P a g e
chance of being in the respondent category. The other

reason for choosing this technique was to avoid bias

since the randomization enabled the author to include all

educators in the population unit to be given equal chance

in the selection process. The concept of random sampling

was important as a basis for acquiring data for the whole

community at low cost and within a short period of time.

Stratified random sampling was used in which educators

or the population was subdivided into homogenous sub-

populations.

Only high school teachers were considered and those in

administrative positions. The educators were further sub-

divided into those with experience of teaching students

with hearing impairment and those without. The research

was carried out in Gweru Urban District in Zimbabwe.

This sampled area was chosen because that is the area

the researcher was teaching for twelve years at a school

offering inclusive education to learners with hearing

impairment and the other six years at an ordinary high

school in Gweru District.

The Research Instruments: Questionnaire

For the purpose of collecting data for the present study,

the questionnaire was employed as the main data

collecting instrument. However, the interview was also

72 | P a g e
considered as a way of trying to clear some of the issues

not fully covered by the questionnaire. Best and Kahn

(1993), asserted that a questionnaire is a document

containing questions designed to solicit information

through which respondents answer questions or respond

in writing.

The first step in developing a survey instrument was to

decide exactly what information was needed in making

reasonably certain that the educators would have the

desired information regarding the inclusion of the hearing

impaired students into Advanced level classes. The

information sought related to perceptions of educators

regarding inclusive education. Most questions were

structured with a few open ended ones. The

questionnaire consists of fifteen questions. The

instrument is designed in accordance with the following

criteria, reliability and validity and that the length of time

commensurate with attention span of respondents,

suitability and appropriateness to the verbal and the

comprehension level of respondents.

The respondents attended to questions at their own spare

time and alone to allow for free to expression of ideas on

the questionnaires. The questionnaires were generally

economical for the researcher as he was able to cover a

number of respondents in one place at a time. However,

73 | P a g e
if a questionnaire was poorly designed it could have

resulted in respondents giving inappropriate responses.

Therefore according to Leedy (1993) questionnaires

should take a lot of time to prepare and design for them

to provide opportunity to investigate as economically as

possible a wide field to obtain reliable data about a

population.

Data Collection Procedures

Data collection, according to Knatterud et al (2003), is the

process of gathering and measuring information on

variables of interest, in an established systematic fashion

that enables one to answer stated research questions,

test hypotheses, and evaluate outcomes. Regardless of

the field of study or preference for defining data

(quantitative or qualitative), accurate data collection is

essential to maintaining the integrity of research,

according to Whitney (1998) and both the selection of

appropriate data collection instruments (existing,

modified, or newly developed) and clearly delineated

instructions for their correct use reduce the likelihood of

errors occurring.

Data for this study was mainly collected from the

respondents using a 15-item questionnaire and a an 8-

item interview schedule. However, the research also

74 | P a g e
used some personal observation and his personal

experience as an educator at one the schools offering

inclusive education to learners with hearing impairment in

Gweru Urban

Questionnaires

The questionnaire was divided two categories. The first

category dealt with background information of

respondents regarding their age, sex, academic and

professional backgrounds. The second category aimed at

finding out from educators their perceptions and the

learning difficulties learners with hearing impairment

encounter in learning subjects at “A” Level, if at all they

manage to reach that level of education. The researcher

made appointments with school heads before taking the

questionnaires to the respondents. These were physically

carried to the respective schools.

The researcher did underscore the need for

confidentiality in the process of responding to questions

in the questionnaire including the period after completion.

The researcher also assured respondents that the

information given was going to be used exclusively for

this particular study and not in any other way which would

prejudice them in any way. The questionnaires were

handed over to the head‟s office at each school and from

75 | P a g e
where they were to be also collected. Each respondent

had to fill-in his or her questionnaires individually and

confined to their respective classroom bases to avoid

prejudices and stereotyping. The researcher made sure

that the questionnaires were collected later the same day.

The questionnaire was administered to the all educators

and follow up interviews were later conducted with

teachers and administrators.

The Interview

The interview technique, in this study, was used on a

limited scale to clarify issues that would not have been

fully covered by the questionnaire on the broad front,

such as feelings and personal beliefs. Though the

interview method had recognizable logistical problems

and limitations, it provided greater flexibility and

opportunity for probing in-depthly and for crosses

checking responses. The major strengths of the interview

were that the interviewer was able to capture attitudes,

feelings, general perceptions and authenticity of answers

promptly. The interviews were conducted to individual

educators in their respective bases or offices and during

tea breaks. Each interview lasted approximately ten to

twenty minutes and informally with respondents at easy.

The purpose of the interview was to obtain valid and

reliable data through the interviewee‟s responses during

76 | P a g e
informal and or group interactions. The interview could

reveal the respondents‟ values, attitudes, for example

through dress, body language, facial expression,

gestures, emotionality, including extrovertness or

aggressiveness according to Behr (1988).

An interviewer got information, according to Louw and

Edwards (1997:596), from non-verbal behavior,

temperament, interpersonal style, though researchers

needed not to jump into conclusions about personality

traits on the basis of inadequate information or good first

sight impression.

The above authors claim that such good impressions

created, perhaps by one characteristic, may lead to bias

in other judgments relating to other characteristics, thus

causing “halo” effect, as many things cannot validity be

assessed solely by means of interviews. Purposive

sampling was used to select all the educators for

interview at break time and convenient sampling was

used to select parents for informal interviews during their

visit for Speech and Prize giving days at the selected

schools. In-depth informal and formal interviews with the

participants were also conducted to build up rapport,

explore key aspects and probe deeper into emerging

categories about the perceptions of teachers and

administrators on challenges encountered by learners

77 | P a g e
with hearing impairment in subjects at Advanced Level

and possible remedies.

Observation

The observation technique is whereby the researcher on

field tries to understand people from their own frame of

reference. It is quite possible to study perceptions and

attitudes through questionnaires and interviews, but the

observation can identify some innate tendencies reflected

by the respondents. Mutubuki (2014:28) argues that a

sociologist may decide to observe a social situation or

event by either actively or being actively involved, that is,

by either passive observation or participant (active)

observation.

The observation was used only as a supplement to the

questionnaire and interview techniques. The major flow of

this technique is that some conclusions can be subjective

since convictions of the observer are used as a

parameter to judge observed issues. Impromptu visits

and questions were conducted, though the researcher

was mainly keen to observe how educators feel about the

inclusion of hearing impaired students into „‟A‟‟ level

subjects. It was observed that most of such students are

schooled to view the Seventh Grade as terminal and a

few, up to ordinary level, where inclusive schools maybe

in close proximity to a special school.

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Data Analysis Plan

Descriptive statistics were arrived at through using

mathematical calculations. These were then provided by

way of a convenient summary of aspects of perceptions

and possibly attitudes of educators. The summary of data

analysis was converted into percentages (%) and in form

of tables and pie-charts for each variable under review

and two summary histograms. The descriptive statistics

were then summarized into percentages for each

category on whether each respondent agreed, disagree

or was uncertain on each variable on the questionnaire

and interview schedule. Data analysis, according to

Rundell (2002), is a process of inspecting, cleaning,

transforming and modeling data with the goal of

highlighting useful information, suggesting conclusions

and/or supporting decision making. Data analysis,

according to the same source, has multiple facets and

approaches which encompass diverse techniques under

a variety of names; in different business, science and

social sciences.

The researcher organized data in form of tables, pie-

charts and histograms. The data was expressed as a

proportion of one hundred percent (100%) rather than

absolute numbers for easier comparative analysis. The

data treatment is a process that involves categorizing and

79 | P a g e
coding of data from questionnaires and interview

schedules on tables and graphs displaying arithmetic

means on questions of interest.

The researcher drew up questionnaire and interview data

analysis forms first showing different categories for

content analysis, as explained by Bazeley (2007). Initially

the data was summarized by compiling tables using

tallies which were later converted into percentages for

each category on whether a respondent agreed,

disagreed or was uncertain. The researcher used a

format that transcribed data from a questionnaire and

interview schedules so that the data from different

categories could be compared and contrasted easily. The

comparative analysis was based on the percentage

concentration on each variable category of the; agree,

disagree or uncertain categories, including patterns of

responses on each category. Twenty-three tables,

seventeen pie-charts and two histograms were finally

used to display information and the overall picture of

distributions of concentration on each category as a

percentage (%) of total responses.

The researcher‟s claims on conclusions were based on

generalizations on the size and scope of the sample and

using a language of tentativeness to reflect the strength

or weakness of such claims. For each analyzed

80 | P a g e
category, the researcher used descriptive statistics to

provide the overall image of summary data, which was

then used to check for insights into the problem or to

make inferential claims or conclusions. The researcher

related summary statistics to the broader questions at

first and then later from specific to the general.

Ethical Considerations

Before administering the questionnaire the researcher,

had to get verbal informed consent from respondents.

The researcher explained the purpose of the research,

procedures to be followed and how and why they were

selected. After getting informed consent, the researcher

then administered the questionnaires and conducted

interviews.

All researchers, according to Mutubuki (2014), have to be

extra-sensitive to the ethical dilemmas they could pose or

cause to the benefits and social rewards accruing from

the study. Therefore the researcher assured the

participants that the information given would not be

divulged to any other person or for any other purpose

than the research under review. Ethical measures are

principles which the researcher should bind

himself/herself (Schulze, 2002:17). In this study, the

81 | P a g e
researcher adhered to the following research ethics:

Firstly, the researcher sought approval to conduct

research before any data is collected (Hughes, 2003:66).

In this study, the researcher sought an ethical clearance

letter from the Chairperson of the Department of

Educational Foundations, Management and Curriculum

Studies at Midlands State University. The researcher also

sought permission from the Provincial Education Office in

Gweru before collecting data from the targeted schools.

Secondly, the participants were given adequate

information pertaining to the study before data collection.

The researcher gave participants ample information

about the aims of the research, procedures to be

followed, possible advantages and disadvantages for

participants, and how the results would be used. This

helped the participants to make informed decisions on

whether to participate in the study or not. No form of

deception was used in this study to ensure participation.

This therefore means that the participation was of free will

or voluntary in nature and that the participants were also

free to withdraw at any time or whenever they wished to.

Thirdly, the identities of participants were not

compromised in anyway or at any time, as their names

were neither used in the collection nor analysis of data.

82 | P a g e
83 | P a g e
Summary

The chapter highlights and deals with the research design

used in the study. It also gives insight into the target

population and the sample. The data collection

procedures are also discussed in relation to social

science studies like the areas of educational sociology

under review in this study. Furthermore, it exposes some

of the weakness of the instruments which are used in the

study. Qualitative data gathered is analysed using the

manual sort and count, grouped, coded, classified,

categorized and trends and patterns analysed as they

emerge. Thick descriptions are also employed using

information from the questionnaire and interviews. The

chapter also focuses on ethical considerations, the

procedures of how the data is to be collected, analyzed

and presented.

84 | P a g e
 Chapter Four

Data Presentation, Analysis and Interpretation

Introduction

In this chapter, the researcher seeks to present and

discuss research findings of the study. Thirty four

respondents were used in the analysis which represented

one hundred percent of the original number of questions.

Out of thirty four (34) respondents, twenty-five (25) were

school teachers representing seventy five percent (77%)

and, nine (9) of them had administrative posts in the

education system constituting twenty five percent (23%).

Therefore the analysis and interpretation is based upon

responses from thirty-four (34) educators who responded

to the questionnaire and twelve educators who were

conveniently interviewed.

85 | P a g e
(A). Background of the Respondents

Table 1: Age/sex Distribution of Respondents

N=34

Age Administrators Teachers

Level

F M % F M %

20-30yrs 6 3 36

31-40yrs 1 1 22 6 3 36

41-50yrs 2 2 45 5 2 28

51+ yrs 2 1 33

Total 5 4 100 17 8 100

Of the nine (9) school Administrators who responded to

the questionnaire, four are male representing forty-four

percent (44%) while five (5) are female and representing

sixty seven percent (56%). There is no administrator of

either sex in the age group 20-30 years. However, all the

administrators are fairly distributed between thirty-one

(31) and above fifty (50+) years.

86 | P a g e
Of the twenty-five (25) teachers who responded to the

questionnaire, seventeen (17) are female teachers

representing sixty eight percent (68%) while eight (8)

are males representing thirty two percent (32%). In the

age groups 20 to 30 and 31 to 40 years there are six (6)

female teachers representing twenty-four percent (24%)

in each case.

However, three (3) male teachers in each case are found

in the same age group range of 20-30 and 41 to 50 years,

representing twelve percent (12%) per category. In the

above forty–one years category, there is no single

teacher found and thus indicating that most teachers who

responded to the questionnaire are in the age groups

between twenty (20) and forty (40) years.

87 | P a g e
Table 2: Age Distribution

N=34

Age administrators Teachers

Level

N % N %

20-30 9 36

yrs

31-40 2 22 9 36

yrs

41-50 4 45 7 28

yrs

50+ yrs 3 33

Total 9 100 25 100

The nine (9) school administrators who responded to the

questionnaire are all found in between the three (3) age

group ranges of 31 to 40, 41-50 and the 50+ age groups.

The other one Administrator was found to be in the age

group range of 41 to 50 years representing thirty three

percent (17%). From the twenty five (25) who responded

to the questionnaire nine (9) falls in the age groups of 20

to 30 and 31 to 40 years and representing thirty-six

percent (36%) in each case. Seven (7) other teachers fall

88 | P a g e
in the age group of 41 t0 50 years representing twenty

eight percent (28%).

Table 3: Highest Academic Qualifications

N=34

Academic Level Administrators Teachers

N % N %

Std 6

PTL/PTH

ZJC

„O‟ level

„A‟ level 2 22 7 28

Diploma/ND/HN 1 11 3 12

Degree 6 67 13 52

Postgrad.Cert./ 2 8

Dip/Degree

Total 9 100 25 100

The respondents to the questionnaire for both

Administrators and Teachers showed that none of them

had academic qualifications below the „O‟ level standard

which is the basic requirement for entry into the teaching

89 | P a g e
profession. This implies that educators with low academic

qualifications, such a Standard 6 or ZJC which were

previously recognized by the government improved

themselves or retired.

Sixty-seven percent (67%) of Administrators and fifty two

percent (52%) of the teachers have their academic

qualifications at degree level while eight percent (8%) of

the teachers are qualified at postgraduate level. Of the

twenty five (25) teachers who responded to

questionnaire, twenty-eight percent (28%) have their

highest academic qualifications „A‟ level and twenty-two

percent (22%) of the administrators have their academic

qualifications at “A” level as well. postgraduate levels in

each case. Therefore it indicates that fifty percent (50%)

of the respondents are academically qualified at

Advanced level, meanwhile a further twenty-three are

qualified at diploma level. The results seem to indicate

that most educators have suitable and adequate

qualifications for teaching purposes in schools.

90 | P a g e
Table 4: Highest Professional Qualifications

N=34

Professional level Administrators Trs

N % N %

PTL/PTH 1 4

CE/Dip. Ed. 2 22 5 20

Degree 4 45 8 32

Postgrad.Cert/Dip 3 33 10 40

Degree

Other 1 4

Total 9 100 25 100

The two (2) of the Administrators who responded to the

questionnaires have their highest professional

qualification being at diploma level and representing

twenty-two percent (22%), while the other four (4) are

qualified to degree level and represents forty-five percent

(45%) of the respondents. And, three (3) of the

administrators and representing thirty-three (33%) are

qualified at post graduate level. Therefore, it safe to

conclude that, all the administrators in schools who

responded to the questionnaire have basic and minimum

91 | P a g e
professional qualifications prescribed by the Ministry of

Primary and Secondary Education.

The incidence of no respondents recorded in the

PTL/PTH category for administrators in schools implies

that they may have been promoted, stepped down or

alternatively advanced themselves to C.E, Dip Ed. or

higher. Twenty percent (20%) of the teachers who

responded to the questionnaire were qualified to

CE/Dip.Ed. Level while thirty-two percent (32%) of them

are qualified at degree level and forty percent (40%) at

postgraduate level. There is no single educator who

indicated a specialist qualification to handle learners with

special educational needs in their classes or during

teaching periods.

92 | P a g e
93 | P a g e
Table 5: Teaching Experience

N=34

Teaching Administrators Teachers

experience

Level

/years

N % N %

Below 5 7 28

5-10 7 28

11-15 3 33 4 16

16-20 4 45 4 16

20+ 2 22 3 12

Total 9 100 25 100

Thirty three percent (33%) of the Administrators who

responded to the questionnaire are in the categories; 11

to 15 years‟ experience and forty-five percent (45%) have

16 to 20 years of teaching experience. Twenty-two

percent (22%) of Administrators who responded are of

above 20 years teaching experience category. The

majority of teachers (52%) involved in the study are of

below ten (10) years of teaching experience and sixteen

percent (16%) are in the categories of 11 to 15 and 16 to

20 years of teaching experience in each case. Twelve

94 | P a g e
percent (12%) are in the categories of above 20 years

and that of above 20 years of teaching. It thus implies

that the majority of educators (72%) are well experienced

with over ten (10) years in the field of teaching. The

remaining twenty-eight percent (28%) of the teachers fall

in the category of below 5 years of teaching experience. It

is also noted that none of the Administrators who

responded to the questionnaire was of below five (5)

years of teaching experience. The results also seem to

explain that only long serving members are promoted

administrative posts.

Findings and discussions from the questionnaire

School Educators‟ views on the inclusion of children with

hearing impairment:

Table 6 and Pie-chart 1: Variable 1

Do learners with hearing impairment have a right to learn

at any school of their choice?

N=34

Agree Disagree Uncertain

N % N % N %

28 82 5 15 1 3

95 | P a g e
 Responses to Variable 1
3
15

Agree
Disagree
Uncertain

82

Twenty-eight (28) educators out of thirty-four (34) agree

that learners with hearing impairment have a right to learn

at any school of their choice. This indicates that most

teachers are knowledgeable of the benefits of the

inclusion of such learners and are aware of the

importance of this kind of placement.

Five (5) educators disagreed to this variable. The results

show that some educators are unaware of the benefits

that may necessitate inclusive education programmes.

One teacher is uncertain. This indicates that certain

teachers may have not been engaged in inclusive

education programmes so as to be able to realize some

of the advantages of the inclusion of learners with hearing

impairment.

96 | P a g e
Table 7 and Pie-chart 2: Variable 2

Do learners with hearing impairment in regular schools

have the opportunity to develop socially?

N=34

Agree Disagree Uncertain

N % N % N %

22 65 10 29 2 6

Responses to Variable 2

6
29 Agree
Disagree
65 Uncertain

Twenty-two (22) of the thirty-four (34) educators agreed

that learners with hearing impairment in regular schools

have the opportunity to develop socially, representing

sixty-five percent (65%) concurrence. The results indicate

that most teachers are confident of the socialization effect

of inclusion. Such educators are most likely, able to

design activities which allow these learners to interact

with the “normal” hearing children.

97 | P a g e
Table 8 and Pie-chart 3: Variable 3

Does educating children with hearing impairment in

regular schools help them develop emotionally?

N=34

Agree Disagree Uncertain

N % N % N %

24 71 7 20 3 9

Responses to Variable 3

9
20
Agree
Disagree
71 Uncertain

Twenty-four (24) educators of the thirty-four (34)

respondents agreed that educating children with hearing

impairment in regular schools help them develop

emotionally and this represents seventy-one (71%).

These results show that most educators do appreciate

the development of emotional behavior of all children,

including the fact that such children tend to copy

98 | P a g e
acceptable behaviour from their normal hearing peers in

regular class environments. Twenty percent (20%)

disagreed and nine percent (9%) are uncertain, showing

that a minority number of educators are either against or

skeptic about the long term emotional benefits of

inclusive education.

Table 9 and Pie-chart 4: Variable 4

Should learners with hearing impairment in regular school

need to be in their own unit or special class?

N=34

Agree Disagree Uncertain

N % N % N %

17 50 15 44 2 6

99 | P a g e
 Responses to Variable 4

50 Agree

44 Disagree
Uncertain

Seventeen (17) educators constituting fifty percent (50%)

of educators agree that learners with hearing impairment

need to be in their own unit or special class. The result

indicates that half of the educators do not believe in

inclusive education or its intended benefits to learners

with hearing impairment. However, a moderate forty-four

percent (44) disagree to this variable indicating that a

significant number believes that inclusive education can

be a success, six percent (6%) are uncertain about

confinement of learners with hearing impairment to

special units. These results are an indication that a

number of educators believe that in such social units may

be relevant for some such learners, particularly the

severely impaired who more are likely to benefit from

acceptable behaviours of their normal hearing peers

while they can also have periods during which they

cannot be humiliated or ridiculed by their „normal‟

hearing.
100 | P a g e
Table 10 and Pie-chart 5: Variable 5

Does exposure to regular school learning programmes

help the hearing impaired child develop intellectually?

N=34

Agree Disagree Uncertain

N % N % N %

27 79 6 18 1 3

Responses to Variable 5

3
18
Agree
Disagree
Uncertain
79

Twenty-seven (27) out of thirty-four (34) educators and

constituting seventy-nine percent (79%) agree that

learners with hearing impairment should be exposed to

regular school learning programmes. These results are

an indication that a remarkable number of educators

believe that learners with hearing impairment in inclusive

101 | P a g e
school programmes, are likely to benefit from learning

programmes planned in regular schools.

However, eighteen percent (18%) of educators disagree

to this variable perhaps due to the fact that they may be

skeptic about the benefits of inclusive programmes to

learners with hearing impairment in regular schools. This

indicates a general lack of confidence in inclusive

education philosophy and the impact of such

programmes for learners with hearing impairment,

especially, to benefit from acceptable behaviours of their

normal hearing peers during class activities. Only three

percent (3%) of respondents was unsure or uncertain

about whether regular school programmes would also

benefit learners with hearing impairment.

Table 11 and Pie-chart 6: Variable 6

Is the inclusion of learners with hearing impairment into

classes of hearing peers easy?

N=34

Agree Disagree Uncertain

N % N % N %

6 18 23 67 5 15

102 | P a g e
 Responses to Variable 6

15 18
Agree
Disagree
Uncertain
67

Six (6) educators out of thirty-four (34) and constituting

eighteen percent (18%) agreed to this variable. The result

means that some educators seem to have compared the

performance of children in special institutions and those

in inclusive education settings and realized that those in

inclusive programmes seem to do worse.

Twenty-three educators (23) disagreed probably

indicating that the implementation of inclusive education

is quite a difficult task that requires a lot of planning.

Fifteen percent of educators are uncertain about whether

the implementation of inclusive education is easy or

difficult. These results seem to be implying that a certain

small percentage of educators are still skeptic about the

role of inclusion in the intellectual development of such

learners and the overall process of normalization of

people with disabilities.

103 | P a g e
Table 13 and Pie-chart 7: Variable 7

Do teachers of learners with hearing impairment need

close monitoring and supervision?

N=34

Agreed Disagreed Uncertain

N % N % N %

25 73 6 18 3 9

Responses to Variable 7

9
18
Agree
Disagree

73 Uncertain

A positive result of twenty-five (25) out of thirty-four (34)

and making up seventy three (73%) concur with fact that

most regular school educators are not fully equipped to

teach children with hearing impairment or other severe

disabilities. The results may also imply that a chance

should be given to regular teachers to teach inclusive

classes, but with close monitoring and supervision.

104 | P a g e
Eighteen percent (18%) of the educators disagreed to this

variable. This seems to indicate disbelief that regular

teachers are adequately trained to handle learners with

hearing impairment and other special educational needs.

It may as well indicate that a certain percentage of

teachers are ignorant or uncertain of the real demands of

inclusion.

Table 14 and Pie-chart 8: Variable 8

Does your school offer special facilities for and

programmes for learners with hearing impairment?

N=34

Agree Disagree Uncertain

N % N % N %

5 15 25 73 4 12

Responses to Variable 8

12 15

Agree
Disagree
Uncertain
73

105 | P a g e
Five (5) out of thirty-four (34) educators representing

fifteen percent (15%) agreed that their schools offer

special facilities and programmes for children with

hearing impairment. This indicates that less than average

percentage of educators does believe that current

facilities and programmes in schools do adequately cater

for children with hearing impairment. This fact is further

supported by the twenty seventy-three percent (73%) of

the respondents who disagree as to whether facilities and

programmes in schools are really adequate to cater for

learners with hearing impairment.

However, twelve percent (12%) are uncertain to this

variable. This result could indicate that about a significant

number of educators are unsure or do not believe in the

adequacy of facilities or might not be aware of the quality

of facilities and programmes for total inclusion of children

with hearing impairment for them to achieve maximum

normalization.

106 | P a g e
Table 14 and Pie-chart 9: Variable 9

Should students with hearing impairment be admitted into

„A‟ level classes?

N=34

Agree Disagree Uncertain

N % N % N %

31 91 0 0 3 9

Responses to Variable 9
0
9

Agree
Disagree
Uncertain
91

A massive thirty-one one (31) out of thirty-four (34)

educators constituting ninety one (91%) agreed that

regular classrooms can be modified to accommodate

children with hearing impairment. These results indicate

that most of the regular educators do have positive

perceptions towards the inclusion of children with hearing

impairment into mainstream education system.

Of the remaining only (9%) are uncertain as to whether

regular classrooms can be modified to accommodate

107 | P a g e
such children. These results seem to indicate that a

certain small percentage of regular educators have either

negative attitudes or are indifferent to inclusive education

programmes.

Table 15 and Pie-chart 10: Variable 10

Should educational provisions in an ordinary high school

be adapted to cater for learners with hearing impairment?

N=34

Agree Disagree Uncertain

N % N % N %

32 94 1 3 1 3

Responses to Variable 10
3
3

Agree
Disagree
Uncertain
94

The results are also impressive in that thirty two (32) out

of thirty-four (34) educators constituting ninety-four (94%)

agree that an ordinary high school can adapt its

108 | P a g e
educational provisions to accommodate learners with

hearing impairment. These results indicate that most of

the regular educators do have positive attitudes towards

the inclusion process involving children with hearing

impairment into mainstream education system. Of the

remaining six (6%) of the educators, three percent (3%)

disagreed while the other three percent of them are

uncertain as to whether regular classrooms can be

adapted to accommodate such children. These results

seem to indicate that a certain small percentage of

regular educators have either negative attitudes or are

indifferent to inclusive education programmes.

Table 16 and Pie-chart 11: Variable 11

Should the school Head be sensitive to the needs of

learners with hearing impairment?

N=34

Agree Disagree Uncertain

N % N % N %

29 85 3 9 2 6

109 | P a g e
 Responses to Variable 11

9 6

Agree
Disagree
Uncertain
85

Twenty nine (29) out of thirty-four (34) educators

constituting gigantic eighty-five (85%) agree that Heads

of schools should be sensitive to the plight of students

with hearing impairment. The result shows a very positive

belief in the inclusive education system by a huge

majority of educators. However, nine percent (9%) were

in disagreement to the fact that school heads need to be

sensitive to the needs of learners with hearing impairment

while six percent (6%) also are uncertain about this

variable. The results seem to indicate that a significant

number of educators are still unaware of the roles heads

of schools should take in respect of learners with hearing

impairment and those with variable forms of disabilities.

110 | P a g e
Table 17 and Pie-chart 12: Variable12

Should regular school laboratories be modified to

accommodate learners hearing impairment to enable

them to study sciences?

N=34

Agree Disagree Uncertain

N % N % N %

32 94 2 6 0 0

Responses to Variable 12
0
6

Agree
Disagree
Uncertain
94

Thirty-two (32) educators out of thirty-four (34) and

making up a massive ninety-four (94%) agreed that

science laboratories can be modified to accommodate

learners with hearing impairment. The shows that most of

the educators in schools are confident that educational

facilities can be modified to cater for the hearing impaired

111 | P a g e
students. Six percent (6%) disagree to this variable

indicating that a small percentage of educators either

disagree or are sure of the success of the modification of

school science facilities for this purpose.

Table 18 and Pie-chart 13: variable 13

Should all educators be literate in sign language?

N=34

Agree Disagree Uncertain

N % N % N %

28 82 4 12 2 6

Responses to Variable 13

4
6

Agree
Disagree
Uncertain
82

112 | P a g e
Twenty-eight (28) of educators constituting another

impressive eight-two percent (82%) agree that all

educators should be literate in sign language. The result

indicates that it may be easy for policy makers to

implement to a „new‟ language policy perhaps making

sign language mandatory for all trainee educators and

those intending to join the teaching profession. Twelve

percent (12%) of the educators disagree to this variable

while six (6) was uncertain making up a combined

eighteen percent (18%). The result shows that about one

fifth of educators would possibly resist the introduction of

sign language to all teacher education colleges.

Table 19 and Pie-chart 14: Variable 14

Is inclusion usually successful where the school Head is

interested and supportive?

N=34

Agree Disagree Uncertain

N % N % N %

28 82 3 9 3 9

113 | P a g e
 Responses to Variable 14
3
9

Agree
Disagree
Uncertain
82

Twenty-eight (28) out of thirty-four (34) respondents

which constitutes eight one percent (82%) agree to the

variable that school Heads‟ support and interest in

inclusive education play a pivotal role in its successful

implementation. However, nine percent (9%) of educators

disagree and the other nine percent (9%) are uncertain

as to whether or not inclusion can be successful where

the school head is interested and supportive. The results

seem to indicate that over four fifths of educators pin the

success of inclusive education to the interest and support

from school administrators with less than fifth of them

either disagreeing or pessimistic to this variable.

Table 20 and Pie-chart 15: Variable 15

What is the form of inclusive programme at your school, if

any is it locational, social or functional?

114 | P a g e
N=34

Agree Disagree Uncertain

N % N % N %

15 44 1 3 18 53

Responses to Variable 15

44 Agree
53 Disagree
Uncertain
3

Fifteen (15) educators out of thirty-four (34) and

constituting forty-four percent (44%) agree that there is

some form of inclusive education at their respective

schools. This result indicates that probably most schools

are involved in inclusive education at marginal levels and

without proper strategic planning and policy formulation.

Only three percent (3%) of the educators disagree to

whether their school offer some form of inclusion while

the other fifty percent are uncertain about one or more

forms of inclusion being offered at their schools. The

results indicate that a sizeable number of about fifty six

115 | P a g e
percent (56%) either disagree or is unaware on the

incidence of inclusive education in their respective

schools.

Table 21 and Pie-chart 16: summary Sample Results

for all Variables

N=34

Agree Disagree Uncertain

Total % Total % Total %

349/510 68 111/510 22 50/510 10

Responses to All Questionnaire

Variables
10

22
Agree
Disagree
68 Uncertain

Sixty- eight percent (68%) of all respondents agree to all

variables in the questionnaire. Twenty-two percent (22%)

116 | P a g e
respondents disagree to all variables in the questionnaire.

And, ten percent (10%) are uncertainty to all variables in

the questionnaire. The results seem to indicate that the

majority of educators are probably confident of the

success of inclusive education in schools.

However, results also show that perhaps about thirty-two

(32%) percent are either in disagreement or uncertain

about the prospects of inclusive education programmes.

117 | P a g e
Table 22: Comparative Analysis between Guinea Fowl

High School “X” and Mambo High School “Y”

Variables.

N=34

Variable “X” “Y”

A D U N A D U N

1 15 2 0 17 13 3 1 17

2 9 7 1 17 12 4 1 17

3 12 3 2 17 11 5 1 17

4 10 5 2 17 8 9 0 17

5 13 4 0 17 14 2 1 17

6 2 11 4 17 4 12 1 17

7 12 3 2 17 13 3 1 17

8 1 14 2 17 3 12 2 17

9 16 0 1 17 15 0 2 17

10 15 1 1 17 17 0 0 17

11 13 3 1 17 16 0 1 17

12 16 1 0 17 17 0 0 17

13 13 3 1 17 14 2 1 17

14 13 3 1 17 15 0 2 17

15 7 1 9 17 8 0 9 17

Total 169 59 27 255 180 52 23 255

% 66 23 11 100 71 20 9 100

118 | P a g e
Sixty six percent (66%) in school “X” (Guinea Fowl High)

agreed to all variables in the questionnaire against

seventy one (71%) in school “Y” (Mambo High) where an

inclusive programme is already under way. The results

show that educators currently involved in the inclusive

education have probably more confidence in the inclusion

process as their schools enrolls students with hearing

impairment from Jairos Jiri Naran centre. In school “X”,

twenty three percent (23%) disagreed against twenty

percent (20%) in the “Ý” group.

This shows perhaps that more educators in schools

currently not involved in inclusive education are against it

as compared to those in the group currently involved in

inclusive education, though the numbers are both inferior

to those agreed to variables. In both groups an

insignificant eleven (11%) and nine (9%) were uncertain,

indicating probably that a small number of educators are

unsure of the prospects of successful inclusion.

119 | P a g e
Graphical Analysis of results for schools “X” and “Y

80
71
70 66

60

50 AGREE

40 DISAGREE

UNCERTAIN
30
23
20
20
11 9
10

0
School "X" School "Y"

The graphical analysis of results shows clearly that the

majority of educators, averaging about sixty-nine percent

(69%), in both the schools have a probably strong belief

in inclusive education, though those in school “Y”

(Mambo High) where the programme is currently

underway seem to have greater perceptions of the

programme. And, for both a smaller percentage of about

twenty-two (22%) either disagrees or are uncertain (10%)

about the prospects of success of inclusive programmes

120 | P a g e
Findings and discussions on educators‟ perceptions

from the interview

Table 23 and Pie-chart 17: Interview schedule

Variables

N=12

Variable Yes No Uncertain

1. 9 1 2

2. 7 2 3

3. 5 4 3

4. 1 11 0

5. 8 4 0

6. 8 3 1

7. 11 1 0

8. 9 2 1

Total 58/96 28/96 10/96

% 61 29 10

121 | P a g e
 Responses to All Interview
Variables
10

Yes
29
No
61
Uncertain

Sixty-one percent (61%) of the interviewees expressed

their positive perceptions by responding „yes‟ to the

questions. The results indicate that most educators have

positive perceptions towards inclusive education.

However, twenty nine (29%) and ten percent (10%) were

in disagreement and uncertain respectively. The result

indicates that probably that about thirty-nine (39%) of

educators have either negative perceptions against

implementation of inclusive education or are simply

pessimistic about its prospects.

122 | P a g e
Graph 2: Graphical Analysis of Interview results

70

61
60
POSITIVE

NEGATIVE
50 UNCERTAIN

40

29
30

20

10
10

The graph 2 above also gives a comparative analysis of

the results with the column showing responses for

positive perceptions (61%) overshadowing those for

negative and uncertainty. The results seem to indicate

that most respondents have positive perceptions, feelings

and beliefs about the prospects of successful inclusion of

the hearing impaired into ordinary advanced schools in

the country. However, the graph also shows that a

smaller number of educators (29%) seem to have

negative perceptions about inclusive education or may be

uncertain or rather skeptic (10%) about the whole

philosophy of inclusion.

123 | P a g e
Summary

The results of the study have been presented in this out

going chapter on the way school educators responded to

the questionnaires and interviews. Some of the

responses add value to the literature in relation to the

study on the inclusion of leaners with hearing impairment.

Twenty-two tables and two histograms are used as pillars

that contain the data analysis. The results from

questionnaires and interviews seemed to concur that

inclusive education may be possible in ordinary schools

with modifications in perceptions of some of educators

and existing physical facilities.

124 | P a g e
 Chapter Five

Summary, Conclusions and Recommendations

Introduction

The chapter focuses on summarizing the study as well as

giving the conclusions and recommendations in light of

the findings made during the interpretation of data. It also

provides possible areas for proposed further study

around the same topic.

Summary

The purpose of this study was to investigate perceptions

of school Administrators and Educators on the effects of

inclusion on children with hearing impairment, and to

establish the reasons for inclusion. A review of related

literature was implemented as a way of developing an in-

depth knowledge and understanding of the problem. In

the review of related literature a number of authorities

were cited for their views and contributions to the related

studies. Questionnaires were distributed to thirty-four

educators, constituting nine administrators and twenty-

five teachers at two Gweru Urban High Schools. And,

interviews were conducted to twelve educators randomly

selected from the same two high schools. All

questionnaires were returned to the researcher on the

125 | P a g e
same day and then used, in conjunction with interview

results, as the basis for analysis. However, the lack of

funds and time to visit many more schools which practise

inclusive education were some of the obstacles to the

study. Furthermore, the researcher was hindered by lack

of reliable internet services at home and at the workplace

so as to consult more websites on the subject for current

issues on the study.

Conclusions

From the data collected and analyzed on the perceptions

of educators on the effects of inclusion on learners with

hearing impairment, a number of observations were

made. The educators who constituted the sample were

predominantly female, relatively experienced and the age

group range from 20 to 40 years for all educators. And,

most of them were of the teaching experience of between

5 and 20 years and qualified to Diploma level.

The educators generally agreed that for inclusions of

learners with hearing impairment to succeed, the

educators have to show some interest and be supportive

to inclusive programmes and that physical facilities in

regular schools should be modified and adapted to cater

for the needs of learners with special needs. The

research findings also indicated that Heads of schools

126 | P a g e
need to be thoroughly prepared for the challenge. Both

Heads and teachers indicated that learners with hearing

impairment require special educational facilities,

especially the severely affected and that it is possible to

have learners with hearing impairment attending

advanced level classes.

Most of the educators also indicated that the majority of

current classrooms require wholesome modifications to

suit the needs of learners with hearing impairment. Most

administrators in schools portrayed that they did not

consider learners with hearing impairment in either a

special class or unit as part of the school in all respects.

The majority of teachers indicated that they were quite

aware that the inclusion of learners with hearing

impairment had some social, emotional and intellectual

benefits to such students.

However, educators generally indicated that learners

with impairment seem to have some problems related to

adjustment and socializing in regular schools and hence

the need for educators to have relevant and necessary

skills to handle such learners.

Recommendations

From the research carried out in Gweru‟s two Urban High

Schools, there is a need to make educators and parents

127 | P a g e
aware of the forms and effects of inclusion on children

with hearing impairment.

In the allocation of materials, funds and human resources

by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education,

there is need to ensure that schools which practise

inclusive education programmes, for children with hearing

impairment receive more funding from the state.

All tertiary colleges which have not yet incorporated an

element of special education in their course modules

should do so, particularly sign language which is relevant

on how to communicate and manage children in regular

settings.

Further Research Areas

There is need to investigate Education Officers and

Inspectors‟ perceptions on the inclusion of learners with

hearing impairment. There is also need for establishment

of the nations‟ understanding about the inclusion of

learners with hearing impairment in regular advanced

level classes and different career paths. And, there is

also the need to investigate the mental capacity of

learners with hearing impairments to cope with advanced

level content in light of their auditory impairments as well.

128 | P a g e
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Appendix 1

A QUESTIONNAIRE FOR EDUCATORS

I am a Master of Education student at the Midlands State

University conducting research on Inclusive Education.
The study seeks to identify challenges encountered by
learners with hearing impairment in Advanced Level
classes, amongst many others. For each of the following
please indicate the response that comes close to your
views or opinions by ticking the appropriate box or
column. There are no wrong responses.

Section A

Indicate by a tick (√) starting with your background

information.

1. Indicate your sex Male Female

2. State your age 20-30 years 41 -50 years

31-40 years above 50 years

3. What is your highest academic qualification?

Std 6 „O‟ Level Bachelor‟s Degree

ZJC „A‟ Level Diploma/ND/HND

Post Graduate Degree Other Specify………..

4. What is your highest professional qualification?

PTL C.Ed/Dip.ED. PostGraduate/Cert/Dip/Deg

PTH B.Ed/Bsc/B.Com/BA Degree

135 | P a g e
Other specify………………………….

5. What is your teaching experience?

Below 5 years 5-10 years

11-15 years 16-20 years 20+ years

6. What is your professional post in the school?

Student Teacher Teacher

Head of Dept. Deputy Head

Senior Master/Woman Acting/School Head

other specify…………………………

Section B

Key: A-Agree D-Disagree U-Uncertain

May you kindly indicate by a tick (√) the response which

seems close to your views or opinions?

1. Do learners with hearing impairments have A D U

a right to learn at any school of their choice?

2. Do learners with hearing impairment in

regular schools have the opportunity to
develop socially?

3. Does educating learners with hearing

impairments in regular school help them to
develop emotionally?

4. Should learners with hearing impairments in

regular schools need to be in their own unit or

Special class?

5. Does exposure to regular school learning

136 | P a g e
programmes help the hearing impaired
learners develop intellectually?

6. Is the inclusion of learners with hearing

impairments into regular classes easy?

7. Do teachers of learners with hearing

impairment need close monitoring and
supervision?

8. Does your school offer special facilities for

and programmes for children with hearing
impairment?

9. Should learners with hearing impairment be

admitted into „A‟ level?

10. Should educational provisions in an

ordinary high school be adapted to cater for
learners with hearing impairment?

11. Should the school head be sensitive to the

needs of learners with hearing impairment?

12. Should regular school laboratories be

modified to accommodate learners with
hearing impairment to enable them to study
sciences?

13. Should all educators be literate in sign

language?

14. Is inclusion usually successful where the

school head is interested and supportive?

15. What is the form of inclusive education at

your school, if any, is the description

137 | P a g e
locational, social or functional?

Thank you for taking part in this research.

Appendix 2

An interview schedule for the study into the inclusion

of learners with hearing-impairment.

I am a Master of Education student at the Midlands State

University conducting research on Inclusive Education.
May you kindly assist me by answering the questions that
follow as honest as possible? For each of the following
questions either a [Yes], [No] or a [[Uncertain] indicates
the response that comes close to your views, opinions or
perceptions. A tick (√) indicates response that comes
close to a respondent‟s views, opinions or perceptions.

Respondent‟s response Yes No Uncertain

1. Do you believe the inclusion of
students with hearing impairment
into Advanced Level classes is
possible?
2. Would you feel comfortable if
students with auditory impairments
were part of your class?
3. Do you believe it is impossible
to make sign language compulsory
for all teachers and school
administrators?
4. Can you communicate in sign
language?
5. Have you ever taught a class

138 | P a g e
which include any pupils with any
form of physical disability?
6. Do you feel that students with
hearing impair can be as
successful as other students
without disabilities in their
advanced level learning?
7. Do you believe the inclusion of
students with hearing impairment
can reduce barriers and promote
conditions for their meaningful
social and economic participation
in mainstream life?
8. Do you feel students with
hearing impairment and others
with variable forms of disability are
marginalized academically?

Thank you so much for your time

139 | P a g e